By Harry Minium
NORFOLK, Va. – Matt Coutney is the hottest hitter in all of college baseball. In his last 10 games, the Old Dominion first baseman has hit an astounding 10 home runs with 23 RBIs and has scored 17 runs while hitting .488.
Last week he was 8 for 17, hit a home run in all four games and was named the Dick Howser Trophy National Player of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association of America.
More importantly, he has helped lead the Monarchs on a surge they badly needed. ODU won seven of those 10 games, including victories at East Carolina and Virginia, which could be important if the Monarchs are competing for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament at the end of the season.
Coutney homered twice Tuesday night in ODU's 5-1 victory at William & Mary. He has seven home runs in his last four games.
The Monarchs host Florida Atlantic Friday night at 6 in the first of three games this weekend against the Owls. Then comes a rematch with Virginia in the annual Commonwealth Classic on Tuesday, April 19, at Harbor Park.
ODU has moved from 134th in the NCAA national RPI rankings to 77th since the victory over U.Va. That's not high enough to get the Monarchs an at-large bid, but the trend is clearly in the right direction.
What sparked his hitting streak? It may be difficult to fathom for those of you who depend on glasses or contacts to read your morning newspaper. But essentially, he finally began wearing a prescription contact lense when he plays baseball.
Coutney's sight is good in both eyes, he said. But his right eye isn't quite perfect, so he has one contact lens for reading. It's uncomfortable and he's never used it for baseball and rarely uses it at all.
But about three weeks ago, he noticed that he wasn't seeing the ball well at night. After a three-strikeout game at FIU, coach Chris Finwood pulled him aside to see what might be wrong.
"He just didn't seem to be himself," Finwood said.
"He told me he hasn't been wearing his contact lens and that he was going to start wearing it at ECU."
Replied Finwood, with a touch of irony: "Cout, I think that's a good idea.
"Since then, he told me, 'man, it's fun to play baseball when you can see the ball.'"
A senior from just south of Edmonton, Alberta, Coutney is a squared-away guy who isn't counting on a professional baseball career. During an interview Monday night, when asked about his post-ODU plans, he never mentioned baseball.
His hitting streak could change that.
Finwood said pro scouts are taking notice of him. And how could they not? He is tied for ther national lead with 18 home runs.
"If he keeps hitting the way he is, he absolutely has a good shot at being drafted," Finwood said. "He's one of the top home run hitters in the country. He's opening up some eyes, that's for sure."
If not, he's prepared to move on with the rest of his life. Coutney has a degree in leadership and graduates with a second degree in business management in May.
He's a perennial Dean's List student with a GPA of 3.5.
He plans to follow his father's footsteps and became a county administrator in his native Canada. That's akin to being a city or county manager in Virginia.
His father, Frank Coutney, was the chief administrator of Wetaskiwin County for 35 years before retiring just before the pandemic. While elected officials set policy, his father ran the day-to-day operation of county government.
Wetaskiwin County is about 30 minutes south of Edmonton was a great place to grow up, Coutney said. It has 11,212 residents in 1,252 square miles. It's a rural community, with nearly 80,000 cows, nearly 400,000 acres of farmland and plenty of oil and natural gas wells.
The county is bigger than Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and Portsmouth combined.
"That tells you a bit about his maturity," Finwood said. "He doesn't see his identity as a just a baseball player.
"I'm really proud of him. (Shortstop) Tommy Bell is lot like him. He's going to be a teacher."
Bell, Finwood said, could also end up playing professionally.
"If baseball gives them a chance, that's great and they'll have the chance to go on and pursue it. If not, they're going to be OK.
"Eventually, baseball is going to end. Matt is one of those guys who has used baseball to go to college but has also prepared himself for the rest of his life. He's smart and mature."
He's also an outstanding athlete. He spends a lot of time in the offseason in the weight room and running and it shows on his 6-foot-1, 230-pound frame. In fact, he has the ideal body to be a hockey defenseman.
Hockey, of course, is Canada's national pastime, and he began playing when he was a child. He was a defenseman and a pretty good one. Baseball is only played three months a year in his hometown, which is seven hours north of the Alberta-Montana border.
Hockey is played year-round and perhaps that's in part why he ended up playing baseball.
"I was getting tired of hockey, so I tried baseball," he said. "It's a short season, but it was in my family to play baseball."
He followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Brett, in more ways than one. Brett was a standout baseball player and was also a squared-away guy – he's an engineer.
After high school, Coutney found his way to Colby Community College in Kansas. "They have a pipeline to Canada," he said of the Colby coaches. "I was one of like 16 Canadians on the team."
He had eye-popping stats at Colby, with 62 RBIs, 14 home runs, six stolen bases and a .422 batting average during his sophomore season in 2019.
He came to ODU largely because of the sharp eye of assistant coach Logan Robbins, who heard about Coutney. After ODU finished a series at Kansas State, Robbins drove to Colby and spent three days getting to know Coutney and watching him practice and play games.
He had similar offers from half a dozen mid-major schools, many a lot closer to his home than ODU. Robbins, he said, had a big influence on his decision.
"Logan, he was difference with recruiting," Coutney said. "He was more personable than any other coach who recruited me. That's what got my attention.
"When I visited, you could tell the coaches care a lot about the players."
Coutney is accustomed to living in the background at ODU. With Andy Garriola and Carter Trice spraying hits all over the field, Coutney was overshadowed most of this season, and that's just how he wants it.
He learned the value of giving yourself up for your team when he played hockey. He was the consummate defenseman, the guy who stayed back near his own goal, blocked shots, knocked the puck away from guys skating toward his goal, and then watched while others scored goals and garnered all the glory.
"I'm fine with that," he said. "I love seeing Andy and Carter hit. It's a privilege to play with them. Those guys are so talented, so much fun to watch. And we've got guys on the mound throwing really well.
"I don't care if others get all the accolades. As long as we're winning games and having fun, that's all that matters."
Coutney stepped up his profile last season during ODU's run to the Columbia NCAA Regional Final, hitting a home run in a 2-1 victory over South Carolina on the Gamecocks' home field.
ODU is hitting a critical stretch of the season as it tries to go back to postseason play. The Monarchs host Florida Atlantic in three games this weekend, host Virginia at Harbor Park next Tuesday night, then play a weekend series at home against LA Tech, and then another at Southern Miss.
ODU, LA Tech and Southern Miss all played in last season's NCAA Tournament. Southern Miss is ranked 13th in the RPI and LA Tech 41st.
"Offensively, we can hit with anybody," he said. "You've got to score runs to win games. I feel like one through nine, plus guys on the bench, we can hit with anyone in the country. And we've got some guys on the mound who are starting to figure things out.
"Our three toughest weeks of the year are coming down the stretch. I'll bet we'll be able to find our identify down the stretch here."
Whether he ends his baseball career at ODU, or ends up on a professional roster this summer, Coutney said he's looking forward to the day when he returns home to Canada to work in municipal government.
And while that may not sound like a sexy job, he said he can't think anything he'd rather do.
"My dad did it so long that I know what to expect," he said. "I've always told myself, whatever I do, I want to wake up in the morning and look forward to going to work.
"I feel like if I could find a way to give back the community, that would motivate me. Let's go build a project for the community, something else for the community, let's do something to better the lives of people.
"That would motivate me to get up every morning."
Minium: ODU's Matt Coutney is the Hottest Hitter in College Baseball
