After five seasons with the Tampa Spartans and one more to go, Drew Ehrhard isn’t ready for his life in baseball to end.
In what has been an illustrious stretch with the Division II club, the infielder is taking his experience as captain and leader of the team to build on his desire to transition into coaching.
Though he’s received a COVID waiver extending his eligibility for one more season, the graduate student is already pondering his future after college.
“Obviously, I want to play this game as long as I can,” said Ehrhard, in an interview on Thursday. “At some point, I’m going to have to hang up the cleats, and when that day comes, I really look forward to trying to give back to the next generation of ballplayers.”
Ehrhard has some practical coaching experience at TNXL Baseball Academy, though says much of his comfort around coaching is owed to his career with the Spartans.
“Being a team leader helps lead you into being a coach, because as a coach, you’ve got to be a leader as well,” said Ehrhard. “Whether you’re a leader, whether you’re a coach, you got to set a good example for the guys around you.
“I’m a big believer in ‘lead by example.’ ”
Aside from being a leader on the field, Ehrhard emphasizes approaching the game as he says, “the right way,” giving appropriate attention to education and community service, something the next generation of players can certainly benefit from.
The 23-year-old holds the highest grade point average on the team, and is involved in local fundraising initiatives such as Keeping Tampa Beautiful and Relay for Life.
As dynamic as he is off the field, he’s even more dynamic on.
The do-everything infielder has returned to catcher this season, though he has also spent time at second base, shortstop, and third base. An ability to switch from position-to-position lends Ehrhard repute when delivering advice to teammates.
“I pride myself on learning the positions and whatever it’s going to take to be the best in that position,” said Ehrhard, who’s had a strong season thus far.
In 26 games and 122 plate appearances this season, Ehrhard has put up the highest batting average of his career (.369) and leads the team in hits (38). He also has four home runs and 25 runs batted in, helping the team build a 23-3 record.
Ehrhard’s ability on and off the field has earned him the utmost trust and respect from Joe Urso, the Spartans head coach.
“He can do it all,” said Urso in a scrum on Wednesday. “Definitely our most valuable guy right now.”