For some families, traditions are passed down through holiday dinners, old photographs, or even heirlooms. For the Willits family, their bond has been forged through America\u2019s favorite pastime. <\/p>\n
Baseball isn\u2019t just a sport they watch, it\u2019s the thread that weaves their family together. This week, two of the Willits are here in Cary, North Carolina, looking to continue developing the next potential Willits baseball phenom.<\/p>\n
Sitting in the stands at the 14U National Team Championships (Champs NC), Mrs. Willits watches her youngest son, Hunter, suit up for USA Prime National. For them, however, this week serves as more than just an opportunity to win a gold medal, but also as a powerful reminder of how a single game has continuously brought her family closer together through generations of success.<\/p>\n
That success begins with the head of the family, Reggie Willits. Mr. Willits currently works as an associate head baseball coach at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma. Prior to his time as a coach, Reggie put together a great career with the Sooners, which ultimately led him to be selected in the seventh round of the 2003 Major League Baseball Draft by the Anaheim Angels. <\/p>\n
Reggie posted a solid six-year career with the Angels, highlighted by a standout rookie campaign in 2007 when he batted .297 with 27 stolen bases. After his playing days, he spent four seasons with the New York Yankees as a first base coach. Now, when he\u2019s not coaching a premier collegiate baseball program, Reggie uses his experiences and presence to help prepare his three sons for their futures in baseball.<\/p>\n
Starting with the eldest of the Willits\u2019 brothers, Jaxon, who just a couple of weeks ago, he and his Oklahoma Sooners teammates celebrated in traditional dogpile fashion in Omaha, Nebraska, after taking down North Carolina 13-2 in the College World Series championship.<\/p>\n
The star shortstop and cleanup hitter cemented his own legacy en route to Oklahoma\u2019s first national title since 1994. Jaxon was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player after batting an absurd .500 across the tournament. Now, Jaxon is just days away from the next story in his career, with the MLB Draft right around the corner.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s the middle brother, Eli, who made MLB Draft history last year when he was selected first overall by the Washington Nationals at just 17-years-old \u2014 the youngest ever by a No. 1 pick. Since, Eli has rapidly ascended through the minor leagues. About a month ago, Eli was promoted from Low-A to High-A after batting .300 with six home runs in just 47 games.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Eli Willits as part of the 2024 18U Team USA National Team<\/p>\n
The National\u2019s top prospect has yet to slow down since arriving in High-A, as he smacked five homers across his first two series for the Wilmington Blue Rocks. Time will tell what lies ahead for MLB\u2019s top 10 prospect, but his quick progression might just speak for itself.<\/p>\n
Yet, if you ask anyone in the family who the real MVP is, they would point straight to Mrs. Willits. Being a baseball mom often means being the backbone of all the family success. From early morning practices, constant traveling, and long, hot days in the sun, baseball has proved to be a lifestyle for Amber.<\/p>\n
\u201cBaseball has been our life,\u201d Mrs. Willits said. \u201cFrom the time Reggie and I got married, he decided where he was going to go play in college based on baseball. It\u2019s been a part of our life forever and it\u2019s very important. It\u2019s what pays the bills and allows us to travel and spend time together. You know, there\u2019s been good and bad with it, but it\u2019s been fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Finally, there\u2019s the aforementioned youngest brother, Hunter. Despite all the noise surrounding his brothers and their achievements, Hunter is focused on playing his best and determined to help USA Prime National win gold. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s awesome getting to play against the best competition in the country and just go out there and perform to the best of my abilities and play my hardest,\u201d Hunter said.<\/p>\n
But with a father who reached the pinnacle of baseball, an oldest brother who just conquered Omaha, and a middle brother who is set to become the face of a Major League franchise, the pressure can certainly feel burdensome. Luckily for Hunter, his mom is always there to reinforce the truth that he is the only person who can write his story.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve talked about how he\u2019s got a little extra pressure on him just because of what his brothers have done,\u201d Amber explained. \u201cAnd no matter what, people are always going to say \u2018Oh, well, he\u2019s Jaxon\u2019s little brother, he\u2019s Eli\u2019s little brother\u2019 and it\u2019s just letting him know that he\u2019s his own person. He does his own thing, plays his own position, and whatever he does is great. He doesn\u2019t have to live up to what anyone else has done. He can be successful in his own place.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s what life is all about. Success isn\u2019t defined by what you do, rather by who you are and how you get to where you are going. <\/p>\n
Despite his young age, Hunter acknowledges that there\u2019s more to baseball than winning or losing, and that having fun is the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t worry about the results, go out there and just play your hardest,\u201d Hunter explained. \u201cBecause when you worry about results, you get down; and when you get down, it\u2019s hard to play the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Hunter Willits out at PDP day during 14U Champs NC for USA Prime National<\/p>\n
The extensive baseball bloodline that Hunter has had the privilege of growing up with has led to an incredible mindset on how he attacks the game of baseball. Whether it’s from Reggie, Jaxon, or Eli, Hunter has grown up with ample opportunity to learn as much as he can. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re everything to me. I get to hit with my dad every day when I\u2019m home, you know, figure out something that\u2019s wrong and fix it. I mean it\u2019s like having a personal hitting coach at home. And then me, Jaxon, and Eli train every day in the offseason, we work out together, work defense, speed workouts, it\u2019s awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n
But high-level baseball isn\u2019t just about a perfect swing or golden glove defense. The reality is it comes with serious lows and slumps. While the boys handle the game from a physical standpoint, Mrs. Willits helps them through the mental side.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been really fun to see the success and the progress. It\u2019s also been heartbreaking when you\u2019re on the other side of it, seeing the broken hands and the .150\u2019s and the not-doing-wells. So, I know making sure my kids and my family know that baseball doesn\u2019t define you. It\u2019s important, and it\u2019s what we work hard for, but we love you whether you\u2019re hitting .150 or .500.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many things, baseball is full of highs and lows. While the Willits have seen plenty of highs, the occasional lows tend to seem larger. Through it all, family is what keeps all members grounded, and no accomplishment or failure will separate them. <\/p>\n
As Hunter looks to create his own legacy, he\u2019ll always know he has the ultimate support system behind him, and plenty of baseball experience to help guide him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For some families, traditions are passed down through holiday dinners, old photographs, or even heirlooms. For the Willits…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":751275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[65],"tags":[363,99],"class_list":["post-751274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-mlb","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=751274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/751274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/751275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=751274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=751274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=751274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}