Editor’s note: This is a regular feature profiling senior athletes at Bryant High School.
NAME: Lucas Castleberry
PARENTS: Doug and Vicki Castleberry
SIBLINGS: A brother, Evan, and two sisters, Scarlett and Ainsley. Evan is 16. Scarlett and Ainsley are both 12.
FAVORITE SUBJECT IN SCHOOL: Math
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? I like to play X-Box and hang out with my girlfriend.
FAVORITE FOOD: Barbecue
FAVORITE MUSIC ARTIST OR GROUP: I like country
FAVORITE MOVIE: Rocky
FAVORITE TV SHOW: The Office[more]
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE TOY AS A KID? Probably this little Beany Baby I had.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS AFTER HIGH SCHOOL? To play baseball at OBU. I’m undecided right now about what I want to study.
OTHER THAN YOUR PARENTS, WHO HAS HAD THE BIGGEST INFLUENCE ON YOUR LIFE? My grandparents. They’ve always been there to support me in everything I do. When I have a good game, they’re the first to call and tell me good job. They also are there to encourage me when things don’t go so well either. They’re just always so supportive.
FAVORITE THING ABOUT BASEBALL: When you get a base hit in the gap and you just watch it go and you just know you’ve got two at least. It feels good.
POSITIONS: I play short, second, third. I just kind of play everywhere. I think they say, if I need to, I can play outfield too.
WHAT’S YOUR APPROACH IN THE FIELD? Just always try to catch the ball moving towards first base because I don’t have the best arm so I’ve got to get my momentum going and I try to get it out of my glove as fast as I can.
WHAT’S YOUR APPROACH AT THE PLATE? I try and hit everything in the right-center gap, just a line drive right out there.
WHAT DO YOU FEEL LIKE IS YOUR PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY ON THE TEAM? My responsibility is when I come up to the dish to produce runs and get on base, and be an on-the-field and off-the-field leader for the team.
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE SEASON SO FAR? We’re doing great. We won that Florida tournament. That was awesome. I’ve been a pinch-hitter mainly and now I’m starting to get some reps in and starting so it’s starting to really come along. I think we’ve got a great team. I think we can make a run at it again.
WHAT'S BEEN THE HIGHLIGHT TO THE SEASON SO FAR? Winning the Florida tournament.
WHAT'S IT GOING TO TAKE FOR THE TEAM TO BE SUCCESSFUL THE REST OF THE SEASON? Our pitchers have got to come out and do it every day, two games in a row in those conference games. Our pitching’s going to do the job like we saw in that Florida tournament. We’ve just got to get them some runs across the board. We’ve just got to keep our offense up, keep scoring.
INDIVIDUALLY, WHAT ABOUT YOUR GAME ARE YOU MOST CONFIDENT ABOUT? I always feel real confident when I’m hitting. That’s probably my best. But I also don’t feel like I can beat in the field either. I’m pretty confident all the way around.
WHAT DO YOU WORK HARDEST TO IMPROVE? My arm strength. That’s my weakest part. I’ve got to get a stronger arm.
AFTER YOU'RE THROUGH PLAYING BASEBALL AT BHS, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'LL REMEMBER MOST FONDLY ABOUT IT? Probably Ben (Wells) throwing that perfect game in the State championship. That was sweet.
