Former Northside baseball player Maddax Kincannon makes college transition

In many instances, players have a learning curve and an adjustment period going from high school to college. That wasn’t the case for Maddax Kincannon, a former Northside baseball standout, when he played this past season as a freshman at National Park College in Hot Springs.

To him, he thought the transition went much better than anticipated.

“Honestly, going from high school to college was a lot easier than I expected,” Kincannon said. “I went from being a two-way player at Northside, playing middle infield and pitching, to being just a pitcher, which I enjoy a lot. It’s a lot less stress and pressure for me. It also gives me the ability to focus only on pitching, which has helped me see a lot more growth than I did in high school since I can focus on just one side of the game.”

The move to being just a pitcher did pay off. Though Kincannon battled some elbow pain, he was still able to finish as an All-Region pitcher and was the top reliever for the Nighthawks. Kincannon throws a vast assortment of pitches – including a fastball, sinker ball and a change-up – but said his bread-and-butter pitch is his slider.

“I love throwing it, and I’m not scared to throw it in any count,” Kincannon said. “Whether I’m ahead or behind, I will attack you with a slider.”

Kincannon is a big believer in earning the trust of his teammates. He also gives credit to his father Mark, a former player at he University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a longtime baseball coach in the high school and American Legion ranks, for his role in developing Maddax into becoming a good player and a good teammate.

“My dad’s the reason I play baseball, 100%,” Maddax said. “He played at a high level, and I remember seeing pictures of him playing when I was little. I thought he was a superhero, I thought my dad was the man. Ever since then, I’ve thought, ‘That will be me one day,’ and that’s been my goal – to do what he did, play at the highest level possible for me, and go Division I like he did.

“Oddly enough, he was a middle infielder at UALR, but he’s the guy who taught me how to pitch and what grips to use. You can ask him – he hates that I pitch and hates watching me pitch because it raises his heart rate so much. But I’m so grateful for everything he’s taught me and how much he’s influenced my life.”

Kincannon is spending this summer pitching for the Fort Smith Sportsman American Legion team. In a late June win, he allowed one run on three hits over five innings, striking out eight.

“Sportsman is going well; we have a really young group of guys, which is different from last year,” he said. “This year, we have guys who are just now getting varsity experience in high school, so it’s definitely a different dynamic. But overall, it’s a great group of dudes.”

Kincannon will return this fall to NPC, where he is studying business management, finishing his freshman year with a 3.65 grade point average.

“The one thing I took away from my freshman year was that I can compete,” he said. “I’m an undersized guy, and I don’t pass the eye test, but I have the ability to beat and hang with anyone. It’s a confidence thing because I’m more than capable of competing. Of course, I have to keep progressing and getting stronger, but that’s what I can take away from it and improve on – just knowing I’m here for a reason.”