Mena Public Schools announced last week that Trevor Humphry will lead the Bearcat Baseball team. Humphry will take over Mena’s baseball program following the departure of Matthew Sandifer who was hired as the head baseball coach at Centerpoint.

Humphry resides in Murfreesboro, Arkansas but was introduced to Mena when his daughter was a member of the Rich Mountain Bucks inaugural softball team.

“We love the area and have gotten used to being up here when my daughter played for the Bucks,” Humphry stated. “My whole family is super excited, and I am really fortunate to have gotten the job.”

Humphry grew up in Delight, Arkansas, and was drafted out of high school in the 9th round of the 1990 MLB Draft by the Minnesota Twins as a pitcher and position player. However, he wanted to go onto college.

Originally having signed with the University of Arkansas, Humphry decided to go the junior college route and signed with WestArk, now University of Arkansas Fort Smith, as a pitcher.

Following his freshman season, Humphry was drafted in the 1991 MLB Draft, this time by the Chicago Cubs in the 18th round.

“I thought I might’ve messed up,” Humphry said on falling to the 18th round. “But I told myself I was going to give it one more year and see what I could do.”

After a very successful sophomore year, the Philadelphia Phillies drafted Humphry with the first pick in the third round of the 1992 MLB Draft.

Humphry went on to play over 7 years in the minor leagues, including stints with the Spartanburg Phillies, Martinsville Phillies, Clearwater Phillies, and Piedmont Phillies.

“I struggled my first few years, because I didn’t know how to pitch. I knew how to throw hard, but I hadn’t picked up on how to be a good pitcher, and you can’t get away with that very long in professional ball,” Humphry said. “Finally, I started having some success and then I started having arm troubles. After about five or six surgeries, I decided it was time to try something else.”

More from this section

Ravens WR Rashod Bateman agrees to 3-year extension

Report: Free agent Xavien Howard cleared for FB activities

Former Miami RB Henry Parrish Jr. returns to Ole Miss

“The experience was awesome,” Humphry noted on being drafted and playing professional baseball. “I got to travel and met a lot of people, and I wouldn’t have ever met my wife if I hadn’t gone on to play.”

Having been around the game his entire life, this season will be Humphry’s first as a head coach.

“From playing ball as a child, all the way through pro-ball, baseball has been a love of mine,” Humphry noted. “I love working with kids, and have coached baseball and softball, never at the high school level, but during summer leagues, and have always enjoyed it.”

Humphry said becoming a high school coach is always something he has wanted to do. “With me getting later in my years, I wanted to at least have a shot to coach a high school team at least one time. So, I decided to go back to school, and everything just fell into place. It’s kind of like it was meant to be.”

For his first season as the Head Bearcat, Humphry doesn’t have any set expectations. “I just know we will work hard, and I will try to give the team the best knowledge I can. I think if we put both of those together, we can have a successful season.”

Humphry added, “From the people I have talked to and the players I have met already, we are probably going to be young, and that isn’t always a bad thing. I want to get them to trust me and to believe in me, that I am going to try to help them as best I can.”

As the head coach at Mena, Humphry also wants to get the community more involved and incorporate some type of summer program so that younger kids can get interested and trained in the game.

“I have a lot that I want to do, it will just be hard to do it all in the first year,” Humphry commented.

“I am really excited to get started.”