SPRINGDALE — Aaron Kincaid’s impact on the Prairie Grove baseball program is reflected in the Tigers’ 75-23 record over the past four seasons.
That stretch includes two district championships and two regional championships for the Tigers, who reached the state semifinals for four consecutive years.
“Aaron has started for us since his freshman year, and I could tell after that first year how athletic he was,” Prairie Grove coach Mitch Cameron said. “He could run, throw and had great hands defensively. So, as a freshman, he had three of the five tools, and I knew as long as he continued to work hard he would be great player.
“And he has turned into a great player.”
Kincaid signed with Arkansas as an infielder last November after leading the Tigers to a 23-8 record as a junior. He continued his success at shortstop his senior year while batting .466 with two home runs and 26 RBI. He was also a pitcher who went 7-2 with a 3.11 ERA.
For his performance, Kincaid is the All-NWA Media Player of the Year.
“Aaron is a very solid baseball player and a smart kid who knows the game,” Lincoln coach Brad Harris said. “Defensively, he was really smooth at shortstop. He seemed to make all the routine plays, and at the plate he was always a tough out. We didn’t see him a lot as a pitcher, but the few innings we did, he was a competitor on the mound with a good fast ball and hard breaking stuff.”
Kincaid, 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, helped Prairie Grove to district and regional championships over Farmington after the Cardinals won the regular-season title in the 4A-1 Conference. He contributed a two-run double when the Tigers opened state tournament play at Harrison with a 6-5 victory over Ashdown.
But Prairie Grove’s season ended the following day with a 2-1 loss to Stuttgart, which also eliminated the Tigers in the semifinals of the state football playoffs.
Although Prairie Grove didn’t reach the championship game, the six seniors on this year’s team will leave with many memories and a sense of accomplishment from the past four years.
“I’ve been playing with Weston Bartholomew and Keelan Henderson since I was eight years old, so that chemistry was already there,” Kincaid said. “We made it to the semifinals all four years, so that’s a highlight I’ll always remember. Also, any time we beat Farmington or Shiloh (Christian), that’s pretty nice, too.”
Kincaid will now begin to focus on his college career at Arkansas, where the Razorbacks will play in the NCAA Tournament for the 12th consecutive year. He’ll join former Prairie Grove teammate Jalen Beeks, who was the winning pitcher in the Razorbacks’ 2-1 victory over Ole Miss in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
“Jalen’s having a good year, and I’ve been following how he’s doing pretty closely,” Kincaid said. “We talked about playing together again after he signed and possibly rooming together, so we’ll see how it goes. I’m just looking forward to getting in the weight room and getting ready to play at the Division I level.”