Spiro baseball coach to head up all-star squad at Oklahoma All-State game

In previous postseason all-star games, D.J. Gist could be on the field and join his players that had been selected. On Sunday, June 8, Gist will get to return to an all-star game and work with an entire squad.

Gist, the longtime baseball coach at Spiro, was selected as the head coach for one of the teams at the Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association All-State games in Enid, showcasing some of the top senior players in the state.

There will be three games on June 8, the small school game, the middle school game and the large school game, and Gist will be the head coach of the Middle East, which is comprised of players from classes 3A and 4A on the east side of the state.

“I think they kind of look at maybe your body of work as a career, on top of different contributions that you’ve made to the association,” Gist said. “I’ve been on the All-State selection committee in the past, and, you know, they go through and they select all the players. … Then they try to figure out coaches that haven’t done it, that are willing to do it, and there’s criteria there.

“You have to have been a head coach for at least five years in the state of Oklahoma, and you have to have 10 years of service between assistant coach and head coach.

Gist has been coaching high school baseball in the state for nearly 20 years, and just completed his 12th season at Spiro. As the head coach for one of the All-State teams, Gist will get to pick his staff. For one of the assistants, he has chosen Stigler coach Kevin Wilkett. The two have a longtime friendship going back nearly a quarter of a century, when Gist and Wilkett were teammates on Pocola’s former American League team, the Choctaws, which won the state tournament in 2001.

“We became friends and hung out, and he ended up marrying one of my first cousins, and we’ve kind of always been good friends, ever since that summer of 2001,” Gist said of Wilkett.

Gist said his assistant coach at Spiro, Brevin Harper – a former standout player for Gist with the Bulldogs – will be on hand as well.

As far as the team he will get to coach June 8, Gist likes the makeup of his roster. It includes Luke Beeler of Tulsa Holland Hall, who will play next season at Wichita State, and Muskogee-area school Hilldale teammates Cole Leach and Mason Pickering, who have signed with Oklahoma and Austin Peay, respectively.

“It’s kind of a pretty loaded class for 3A and 4A East as far as talent, but 3A and 4A West is going to be a tough one as well,” Gist said. “So, it should be a pretty good game.”

The OBCA All-State Games are held at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in downtown Enid, a facility that is used by area high school and college programs.

“It’s a unbelievable setting; it’s like being at a minor league park,” Gist said. “It’s kind of made up in the style of the old ballparks with the brick walls and stuff like that. … It’s a really cool ballpark for these high school kids to be able to play their last high school baseball game on.”

Gist has coached five All-State players at Spiro; the most recent being last year, when he joined ex-Bulldog Hunter Sparks on the field in Enid.

The festivities will start on June 7 with a banquet. Then there will be the three games the following day, with the first game set for noon. Gist’s All-State middle school game starts at 5 p.m., and he is looking forward to the experience.

“You’re there for them to be able to showcase their ability, where they showcase their career, especially their senior year,” Gist said. “Let them cut loose and have fun, you know, enjoy their lifetime on the field. It’s definitely a privilege to be able to go up there and represent Spiro, and it just means a lot to me to coach. I just feel privileged to get that opportunity.”