By Michael Kinney
The first thing to know about Carl Albert’s Kash Ferris is that Kash is not his real name. Despite having been called one of the most baseball-sounding names since birth, his real first name is Beau.
“The Kash part, I think it was from my grandma because she didn’t like the name Beau,” Ferris said. “But my dad loved the name Beau because of Bo Jackson. My dad wanted me to be exactly like Beau Jackson, so they put Beau as my first name. But ever since I was born, they started calling me Kash and I haven’t complained about it one bit honestly.”
While his father may have named him after his idol, it was Ferris’ grandmother who may have had the right idea all along. Since his early days at Carl Albert, Ferris has been money on the mound for the Titans.
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound right-hander is coming off a junior season in which he posted a 1.90 ERA and an 8-2 record in 11 appearances. He entered his senior campaign already committed to playing DI baseball but is still eyeing a possible direct path to the pros.
Yet, Ferris’ main focus has been on helping Carl Albert win a second consecutive 5A state title and third in four years.
“The season started good and then ran to kind of a roadblock when I kind of got hurt so I haven’t been able to pitch,” Ferris said. “But it doesn’t really affect anything because I can still go out there on the field and help my team. We still have a goal of winning the state championship and nothing’s changed with that. We’re just going to go out there every day and just play our hardest with one goal in mind.”
After dealing with a muscle strain in his right forearm, Ferris expects to be back on the mound in the coming weeks.
Yet, even when he is not on the mound, Ferris has proven he can contribute to the squad as the left-field starter. He has also shown he is handy with the bat in his hands as well.
After a game in late March when he crushed a solo home run in his first at bat, Ferris was asked if he enjoys hitting a home run or striking out a batter more.
“I’d definitely say knock one out. I don’t do that very often, but whenever I do it’s pretty cool,” said Ferris. “Whenever I go out there and strike people out, that’s my job. That’s what I’m going up there to do. So whenever I pitch I want to strike everybody out and if I don’t I’m going to be mad at myself just because I know I could have pitched better or pitched to them better to make them not be able to hit it.”
Being on the mound with command of the game in his right arm is still his most important job. It’s a position he has gravitated to since he was in youth leagues.
Ferris credits his ability to go deep into his pitching bag to compliment a 94-mph fastball as a reason he has been able to find success.
“My off-speed stuff is what I’m known for,” Ferris said. “Whenever I go out there and pitch, I’ll be able to go deep in the games and throw off-speed stuff whenever I want so I can go out there. If I get behind in the count and it’s 3-0, I can go out there and throw a slider for a strike whenever I want to.”
Yet, according to Ferris, the No. 1 trait that has helped him the most is his attitude and demeanor when he takes the mound. He learned early in high school that he pitches best when he is in a certain mood.
“I got pretty pissed and I realized that I pitched better when I’m angry, which doesn’t work for a lot of people,” Ferris said. “But I figured out it works for me, so then I just stuck with it. I wake up in the morning, realize it’s game day and I’m pitching. The mentality is nobody has a chance off of me and I go throughout the day knowing that I have to be fully dialed in. I try to keep that until either I’m done throwing or the game’s over.”
It’s that mentality that has made Ferris a highly recruited player since his sophomore season. But with offers from a variety of schools, he committed to Oklahoma State as a sophomore and has never swayed.
“The coaches made me feel at home,” Ferris said. “Whenever they first started talking to me, it wasn’t just coaching a player, they were trying to get to know me and we just created a relationship that felt like it was unbreakable. And ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always looked up to being a Cowboy and whenever the opportunity came, I took it.”
But Ferris admits the one thing that could keep him from becoming a Cowboy is being drafted by a Major League Baseball team.
“I think it’ll be the greatest thing that could happen,” Ferris said. “You show up every day knowing your job is to play the sport you love and it’s just a game and you’re getting paid for it and it’ll definitely help out the family financially where I can cover everything and I just feel like it’ll make everyone just happy and have no worries about anything.”
Ferris has some time before he has to make that decision. The 2024 Major League Baseball draft will take place in July. At that time he will consider all the factors in what could be one of the biggest decisions of his life.
“It will depend on if I do get drafted what the price would be,” Ferris said. “Because my draft advisor and agent, he has a certain price set for me and if I get offered anything below that, there’s really no point in me going and taking that rather than go play three years of college and then maybe boost that offer higher. But it all just depends.”
While Ferris admits those thoughts can be daunting to think about, he doesn’t want what could happen in the future to overshadow his present.
“I feel like I’ve managed it pretty good,” Ferris said. “I don’t like talking about anything like that, but it also gets kind of overwhelming whenever an MLB Scout will text me and be like, “Hey, when are you going to pitch, etc.’ So I’ll say it gets overwhelming sometimes, but I try not to let it affect me because I’m still in high school and I just want to still be a kid.”
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