Daegen Morcom to continue baseball career at Valley City State in N.D.

McCook Community College sophomore outfielder Daegen Morcom, has signed a letter of intent to continue his baseball career at Valley City State University, an NAIA school in Valley City, North Dakota.

"He is probably the picture of perseverance. He just always continued working hard and it wasn't always easy for him here, but I'm really happy he found a four-year school," said MCC Coach Jon Olsen.

This is Morcom's third year at MCC but his first month on campus was a tough one.

The Winnipeg, Manitoba native arrived on campus in the fall of 2021. Health regulations required a mandatory 15-day quarantine for all international students, so he spent his first two weeks at MCC contained in his room in Brooks Hall. He was out one day when he was exposed to someone who tested positive for Covid-19 so back to his dorm room he went for another 15 days.

"It was really hard," Morcom said. "I wanted to go home but I really wanted to give college baseball a try, so I stuck to it and it really paid off."

"I think most people would have packed it up and gone home after spending 29 of 30 days contained in their dorm room, but we're glad he stuck with us," said Olsen.

Morcom continued to persevere and work in the classroom, and was named to the Dean's List in the Fall of 2021. He redshirted his first year then saw the field in 2022 as a reserve outfielder, appearing in 15 games and seven total hits in 33 at bats – a .212 batting average, but he did show the potential for power numbers with two home runs.

When the 2023 season started, the 6-0 left-handed hitting outfielder, once again found himself in a reserve role. Through the team's first 32 games he saw action in 20 of them, with 19 at bats and only two at bats against Region IX teams.

He started a game March 15 in Alva, Okla. against Northwestern Oklahoma State and hit his first home run of the season in a 15-6 win. A week later, he got a mid-week home start against Garden City and hit another home run in a 9-7 win.

"So about halfway through this year, he stepped up and took control of the starting centerfield spot," said Olsen. "He has really done a nice job with the left-handed bat, shown some power and has done a really good job defensively." said Olsen.

On April 4, he went four-for-four with two home runs and five RBIs in a game at Colby. Two days later he went three-for-five with six RBIs at Scottsbluff against Western Nebraska. That's the week Morcom was named Region IX Player of the Week with eight hits in 14 at bats (a .571 average) with a double, seven runs scored, 12 RBIs and three home runs.

He finished the year hitting .347 with five home runs and 24 RBIs in 27 games, with a .430 on-base average and .613 slugging. In his first six post-season starts, he batted .333.

Morcom said he picked Valley City because they have a great wildlife program and because it's only four hours from his Winnipeg, Manitoba home (as opposed to the 13 hours between McCook and home).

He plans to major in the Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science and Management and continue this coursework he began in the sciences at MCC.

Morcom said he really enjoyed zoology and the "Birds of Nebraska" class taught by Rob Bogardus, who he said is passionate and knowledgeable about the sciences and makes every class enjoyable.

"I got to go on a couple birding field trips," Morcom said. "I never expected to see that much diversity. But this is a big flyway for migrating birds here and that was really cool to see."

He said one of his favorite memories in his time in McCook was getting to walk with other students at the fall Heritage Days parades.

"You can just feel the love this town has for the college and appreciation for its students, we all feel like part of the community," he said.