Connor Noland
SENIOR / GREENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL
MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Greenwood High School head baseball coach Trey Holloway knew from the very beginning that pitcher Connor Noland was something special. “When Connor was a sophomore, I called [University of Arkansas pitching coach] Wes Johnson and [head coach] Dave Van Horn and told them, ‘This kid is going to be good,’” Holloway said. “For me, what set him apart, if I look at his last 41 innings, he didn’t give up one run. “And those were a state championship and a state semifinal game. And all of those games were conference games. He didn’t give up a run, and he struck out 80 players. “I knew he was going to be special.” Nolan is this year’s Male Athlete of the Year and the 2018 All Arkansas Preps Baseball Player of the Year, after finishing his senior season with a 10-0 record on the mound and a 0.42 earned-run average. He struck out 123 batters and walked just 14. He batted .424 with 4 home runs and 37 RBIs, leading the Bulldogs to the 6A state championship. “There are a lot of good players in the state, so this award means a lot to me,” Noland said. “No doubt.” Noland’s dad, Frank Noland, said it is very important to Connor to represent the state of Arkansas. “To be the athlete of the year is phenomenal,” Frank said. “I know it means the world to him.” After losing in the semifinals of the state tournament to Sheridan the past two years, Greenwood was finally able to make it to Baum Stadium in Fayetteville. The team defeated Benton 4-0 in the state championship. “Last year, we missed out on some opportunities to hit the ball well, but this year, we came through with some clutch hits,” Connor Noland said. “And our pitching got us through. Freshman Landry Jurecka had a great year, and our overall ERA was low. “We just had a lot of players who were solid and played really good baseball at the right time.” In 2017, Sheridan defeated Greenwood 1-0 in the semifinals — a game Holloway called the state championship. “Both pitchers pitched well that game, [Noland] and Tyler Cleveland,” Holloway said. “We lost two years in a row in the semifinals, and he wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again this year. “It was hard for us to lose, and I think he had a chip on his shoulder.” Holloway said that for Noland to finally finish with a state championship, it made all the hard work worth it.
HE WORKS HARDER THAN MOST PEOPLE DO. He is willing to put in the time and be great. No one else sees the time he puts into it.That’s what makes him great.” — Trey Holloway, GREENWOOD HIGH SCHOOL HEAD BASEBALL COACH
“The state championship was icing on the cake,” Holloway said. “I knew our chances went up really high because of how good he is.” Holloway has had Noland since he was a freshman and has seen him grow a couple of inches and put on 30 pounds of muscle. “He has an OK curveball, but he has really worked on his slider,” Holloway said. “His fastball has gone from 82 or 83 mph to 92 or 93. “He works harder than most people do. He is willing to put in the time and be great. No one else sees the time he puts into it. That’s what makes him great.” Noland said being able to play on the campus of the University of Arkansas in his final game in high school was surreal. He said that, hopefully, he will be pitching there next spring, and that game was “a good way to start off my Arkansas career.” “I got a good feel of that environment for the first time,” he said. Noland committed to the University of Arkansas to play football but will also play baseball. He led Greenwood to a football state championship in 2017, defeating Pine Bluff High School 52-14 in the finals at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. In his senior season, he completed 225 passes for 2,801 yards with 34 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions. “I think it will be a good challenge,” Noland said of playing both sports for Arkansas. “It will be a good time, but I’ll try to balance it all wisely. “I don’t know if I have a preferred sport. I have liked them both for a long time. I just try to keep my balance between both sports.” Frank Noland said he doesn’t believe there is anything in life that could overwhelm Connor. Frank described his son as a self-starter and highly motivated. “He does a really good job of making his day go right for him — getting his schedule and taking care of his body,” Frank said. “He knows himself well and has a good support system that he can rely on. “But the reality is, it is on him. He has the tools to be successful, and as long as he makes the right decisions, he will do quite well.” Frank said the biggest thing he ever did for his son was to not coach him, but instead, be a very supportive dad and allow him to do and try many different things — and allow the coaches to coach his son.
“He has never wanted to be mediocre,” Frank said. “He loves football and baseball, and he is able to play both at a very high level.” Holloway said Connor Noland is always working. He does speed training beginning at 5:30 a.m. and stays after practice to lift. “As far as time management, he is efficient with it,” the coach said. “He is really talented, and when you mix talent and hard work, that is what makes him great.” Noland is enrolled at Arkansas, having just recently completed his first week of summer session. Holloway said Noland is likely to start at quarterback as a freshman this fall, so he is busy studying the playbook. “He has been studying the playbook the past month or so and getting ready for football as well,” Holloway said. “He has been getting bigger and stronger. “He has bigger things ahead of him. While winning a state championship was awesome and a good way to finish his senior year, he has a lot bigger games ahead of him.” He said he wants to study business while in school. “I see my dad be a businessman and be successful,” Noland said. “I want to run my own company. I have seen him go through all aspects of the business world, and it got me interested.” Noland said adjusting to college life has been an easy transition, having lived with his grandparents, Pam and Bucky Cox, since his second semester of his freshman year of high school. “I am used to being away, so it has gone pretty smooth,” he said. “I am having fun, and there are a lot of changes going on. It has been a blast. “I am trying to make the best of it.” Moving to Arkansas was one of the best decisions he ever made, Noland said. “My parents went to Greenwood High School, so that’s their alma mater,” he said. “For me to have the chance to play football for [Greenwood head coach Rick Jones] and to come back to see a lot of my family — there were a lot of things that went into my decision to move to Arkansas.” Noland’s parents still live in Reno, Nevada, with his younger sister, Franchesa, 3, and younger brother, Brady, 8. Noland’s older brother, Peyton, 20, moved with him and now plays football at Lyon College in Batesville. “It was a great experience,” Noland said of his senior year. “The senior class has worked hard for a long time, and to be part of that process and get Coach Trey his first baseball state championship — it is something to remember for a long time.”