After transferring over from Riverside Community College in the offseason, KC Huth has done more than just fill the stat sheet for the Fullerton Hornets baseball team.

He’s filled in the leadership role on the squad and his success this season has been a reflection of his work ethic. The right-fielder has the highest batting average on the team, hitting .385 through 16 games. Batting third in the lineup, he also leads the team in RBI’s with 17, seven of them coming in conference games.

“I felt I had a better opportunity to have more success here at Fullerton,” Huth said.

He’s been an immediate help to coach Fuscardo’s team, who are glad to be playing alongside Huth this season rather than against him. He spent the last two years playing in the outfield for RCC. During his freshman year there, he tore his UCL in his elbow very early on in the season. He was forced to medical redshirt the remainder of the season and was expecting to have the infamous Tommy John Surgery, a baseball players worst nightmare.

Fortunately, he was able to avoid the surgery, one that would have been tough to bounce back from. His recovery process took six months and he was unable to throw a baseball for the first three.

As with any serious injury, questions were raised on whether or not he would be able to play at the level he did before the injury. Huth didn’t let anything phase him or get in the way of the baseball career he always visioned. He worked hard to gain his strength back and came back stronger than ever.

He was ready to play by the start of last season and started all year for the Tigers at center field. At the end of the season, Huth decided to bring his talent over to Fullerton.

The team welcomed him with open arms, as he made the team stronger on both sides of the ball.

“KC has definitely been one of our leaders from the first day he came in,” said sophomore teammate, Christian Salinas. “His enthusiasm and passion for the game lifts the whole squad.”

Leading the way for the Hornets through the first 16 games, Huth’s talent hasn’t gone unnoticed. Division 1 schools have been in contact with him and there’s no doubt in his mind that he will be wearing a Division 1 jersey next season.

Some of the schools that have contacted him include Cal State Northridge, University of Nevada and West Virginia University.

As of now, he has made no commitments and he explained that his current season is what’s most important right now.

He hopes to someday be drafted into the MLB, following the footsteps of his father who was drafted in the third round by the Angels and played nine years professionally.

“My Dad was my inspiration to start playing baseball and be the best I can be,” Huth said. “He always told me that you can’t like the game, you have to love it.”

As for the team, they are 3-2 right now in conference and look to get a conference championship and a trip back to the state championship. It won’t be easy as the conference has a lot of tough competition this year.

“There is no team that you can just roll over and expect to win,” Huth said. “Every team in this conference is good. We just take games one at a time and don’t overlook any team.”

As for Huth individually, his future looks bright.

“I definitely think it was a good decision to transfer here. I’ve never had a problem with anyone on the team and I feel like Skip [Fuscardo] is the best coach I’ve ever played for.”

If he keeps playing at the level of play he has been, the team should have a good shot at a conference championship.