Fans of Samford baseball have now had four action-packed years to become acquainted with the name of Towns King.
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, and then moving to Frisco, Texas, around the age of 4, the current Samford co-captain began playing baseball when he was only 3-years-old. After moving to Irvine, California, around the age of 9, King continued playing baseball, improving in skill and understanding of the game.
He played baseball at Woodbridge High School as well as wide receiver and defensive back on the football team, but he knew all along that baseball was his game. Though now an asset to the Bulldogs roster, King explained that during his two years of varsity baseball in high school, he only started for one season.
“That was the funny thing — I only started (on the baseball team) for one year. So while playing D1 baseball was definitely a dream of mine, it was never something I knew for certain was going to happen.”
His recruitment process began when former Samford head baseball coach Casey Dunn was in the Orange County area. Samford was always a school that piqued King’s interest. His parents were Samford college sweethearts, and he grew up visiting the area to see family on holidays.
After some initial conversations with former coach Casey Dunn, he invited the now redshirt junior to the team’s mission trip to the Dominican Republic and to be on the fall roster. King explained the importance of the mission trip to his time at Samford.
“We had practiced together some, but as a late recruit nobody knew who I was, so it was like, ‘Who is this long-haired kid from California?’ And as an 18-year-old kid not knowing what I was getting into, that was pretty nerve-racking. But after that trip, seeing the guys in action and serving the Lord — seeing who they really are — I really felt so included.”
After redshirting his true freshman year and starting in 12 games each during both his freshman and sophomore years, he spent the COVID break training and getting ready for the next campaign.
During his redshirt sophomore year, Kings exploded onto the scene.
He finished the season with a .285 average, six home runs, four doubles and 35 RBI’s. Three of his home runs came just at the right time — during the 2021 SoCon Tournament. His six hits, three home runs and nine RBI’s resulted in Kings taking home the MVP award from the tournament.
Early on last season, however, King struggled with an injury that sidelined him for a portion of the season. Teammate and close friend Will David described King’s perseverance to recover from the injury and finish the season strong.
“Towns battled an injury during part of the season, but kept his head down and kept working,” David said. “As he fought his way back into the lineup, he put the entire team on his back and had the most unbelievable performance I’ve ever seen during our conference tournament last year. I’m extremely proud to share the titles as captains of this team.”
King credits his personal and athletic success to his faith in God.
“I’ve got to be persistent in seeking after God and his will and giving him the glory for any success I find,” King said. “That’s when I know I can be at peace and know that He’s got me.”
Not only is King an active leader on the team, he is involved in organizations outside of baseball. Both Kings and co-captain Graham Dvorak hold leadership positions for Samford’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.
“It’s more than baseball,” said King. “We talk about our walks, too.”
After a successful 2021, this new season has all of the pieces to be even better for Kings. He is now an experienced outfielder and infielder and proven offensive weapon for the Bulldogs.
King and his Bulldogs took the field for the first time on Friday against the Arkansas State Red Wolves. The Bulldogs will have nearly two months to prepare for their first conference series against VMI on April 8.
