With a batting average of .357, Monroe product Hunter Williams is dead even with Brennan Middleton for the best mark at Tulane since Rob Segedin hit .434 in 2010. Williams, a former walk-on with an easy demeanor and southern drawl that hides his intense competitiveness, has enjoyed a tremendous career on the field and in the classroom. If he can get as hot in Clearwater as he did in Oxford last year, he might be able to carry Tulane to its third consecutive NCAA regional berth.
Last week, Williams, who already has been accepted to Tulane medical school, sat down for an in-depth one-on-one interview to talk about his special career at Tulane.
So did you finish with a 4.0 GPA?
“Yes. I finished. It was tough. This last semester there were a couple of classes I was worried about, but I pulled it off.”
What were your classes this semester?
“Neurobiology of disease, biological psychology, principles of forensic anthropology and I do like a research credit with Dr. Stuart at the Tulane Institute of sports medicine.”
How did you balance baseball with such a demanding major and find time to excel at both?
“It’s definitely a lot of time management, squeezing every hour of every day, and you’ve got to get a lot of help, teachers working with you when you miss so much class, the support staff, players helping you, friends that take notes when you’re missing classes, stuff like that, so it’s definitely not something you can do on your own. You have to have a lot of people helping you.”
When was the last time you did not make a A?
“Honestly, maybe conduct in kindergarten. That’s the last time I can remember not making a A.”
Have you decided whether to pursue a professional baseball career or go to medical school right away?
“I don’t know for sure yet. I’ve talked to some teams, and I’ll just let the chips fall where they lay. We’ll see what happens. It just depends what happens when it comes around to talking to some teams. I haven’t given up on the dream yet. I want to play as long as I can, but no promises. I’ve gotten accepted into medical school at Tulane.”
What about being a doctor attracts you to that field?
“Just growing up, my grandpa (on his father’s side), two of his best friends were doctors. Hanging out with them all the time and looking up to them as idols and how happy they are and the impact they can have on people’s lives. And you know, I’m a Type I diabetic so ever since I was young and getting diagnosed with that, I spent a lot of times in doctors offices and people involved in the medical field. The impact that they’ve had on my life was unbelievable. I wouldn’t be here without those people having a positive influence on my life, and that kind of pushed towards the medical field.”
When you were diagnosed with diabetes?
“I was in fourth grade. I was 10 years old.”
What affects were there at the time?
“I lost like 30 pounds in the span of a month. I was in the bathroom all the time. I was fatigued all the time, lethargic, not my normal self. There was a drastic decrease in my life performance.”
How hard is to handle being diabetic and playing baseball?
“You have to find that balance because if your blood sugar is high or low, it’s going to affect your performance. If my blood sugar’s low, there’s about a 99 percent chance I’m striking out.”
How do you monitor it?
“You definitely have to watch it, and you have to check your blood sugar constantly. I check it after every half-inning just about, whenever I come in from the field, I check it just to see what it is. I kind of obsess about it honestly. I spend way too much thought on it. I try to keep it in a very small range.
“All the time. I don’t like it to be high. I obsess about it going high so I borderline keep it too low. If you ask my teammates, they’ll say oh yeah, I’ve had plenty of issues, but during the games not as much. Practice when you’re out there for four hours, and there’s not as much time to check it and get a snack or something like that. That’s when I have problems.”
Is is Jeremy Montalbano who also is diabetic?
“The diabetic duo, that’s what we call ourselves. It’s a self-given nickname.”
You were about the least heralded of all the class of 2014 when you arrived. What were your thoughts about your baseball future then?
“I knew I was going to have to work to earn it coming in with these guys that just had tons of emphasis behind their names and such an outstanding recruiting class. I just kind of snuck under the radar, and I was like, all right, let’s go to work. I’m going to have to earn everything. Nothing’s going to be given. That’s just the motto I’ve taken throughout my whole career.
“Freshman year, my performance was terrible. It was awful. My defense was terrible in practice, and I never would have pictured that I would turn into what I am today. It’s taken a lot of hard work in summer ball and practices and during the offseason to try to get to where I am now.”
Why did you choose Tulane?
“Academics was definitely one of the most important things, and there were really only two schools I was looking at—Tulane and Rice. It just came down, I talked to the coaching staff and they said why don’t you show up here, walk on and we’ll give you a chance. That’s what I did.”
When were you put on partial scholarship?
“I got a partial scholarship junior year, and coach Jewett actually helped me out and bumped it out a little bit and I’m not having to pay hardly anything, which is incredible. It was unbelievable. Most of my money’s coming from the academic side, so the academic scholarship’s paid for a lot of it, but the little bit of baseball helped. It really helped take the burden off me and my parents.”
Unlike most power hitters, you hit to all parts of the field and take what the pitchers give you, which is why your average is high. How did you develop that ability?
“It’s a lot of time with coaches that know the game, that help you. Sean Allen, Billy Jones, Gautreau and even coach Pierce, coach Jewett, the head coaches take time. It’s working with them. Even though you build the swing when you’re younger, they tweak it. Every college coach that I’ve had has tweaked my swing a little bit and given me pointers to help develop a well-rounded swing. That’s what you need. You need a swing that’s going to play to all fields. That works better when you’re playing against good pitchers that try to exploit your weaknesses, and you have to adjust. They’ve done a great job helping me along the way.”
Last week, Williams, who already has been accepted to Tulane medical school, sat down for an in-depth one-on-one interview to talk about his special career at Tulane.
So did you finish with a 4.0 GPA?
“Yes. I finished. It was tough. This last semester there were a couple of classes I was worried about, but I pulled it off.”
What were your classes this semester?
“Neurobiology of disease, biological psychology, principles of forensic anthropology and I do like a research credit with Dr. Stuart at the Tulane Institute of sports medicine.”
How did you balance baseball with such a demanding major and find time to excel at both?
“It’s definitely a lot of time management, squeezing every hour of every day, and you’ve got to get a lot of help, teachers working with you when you miss so much class, the support staff, players helping you, friends that take notes when you’re missing classes, stuff like that, so it’s definitely not something you can do on your own. You have to have a lot of people helping you.”
When was the last time you did not make a A?
“Honestly, maybe conduct in kindergarten. That’s the last time I can remember not making a A.”
Have you decided whether to pursue a professional baseball career or go to medical school right away?
“I don’t know for sure yet. I’ve talked to some teams, and I’ll just let the chips fall where they lay. We’ll see what happens. It just depends what happens when it comes around to talking to some teams. I haven’t given up on the dream yet. I want to play as long as I can, but no promises. I’ve gotten accepted into medical school at Tulane.”
What about being a doctor attracts you to that field?
“Just growing up, my grandpa (on his father’s side), two of his best friends were doctors. Hanging out with them all the time and looking up to them as idols and how happy they are and the impact they can have on people’s lives. And you know, I’m a Type I diabetic so ever since I was young and getting diagnosed with that, I spent a lot of times in doctors offices and people involved in the medical field. The impact that they’ve had on my life was unbelievable. I wouldn’t be here without those people having a positive influence on my life, and that kind of pushed towards the medical field.”
When you were diagnosed with diabetes?
“I was in fourth grade. I was 10 years old.”
What affects were there at the time?
“I lost like 30 pounds in the span of a month. I was in the bathroom all the time. I was fatigued all the time, lethargic, not my normal self. There was a drastic decrease in my life performance.”
How hard is to handle being diabetic and playing baseball?
“You have to find that balance because if your blood sugar is high or low, it’s going to affect your performance. If my blood sugar’s low, there’s about a 99 percent chance I’m striking out.”
How do you monitor it?
“You definitely have to watch it, and you have to check your blood sugar constantly. I check it after every half-inning just about, whenever I come in from the field, I check it just to see what it is. I kind of obsess about it honestly. I spend way too much thought on it. I try to keep it in a very small range.
“All the time. I don’t like it to be high. I obsess about it going high so I borderline keep it too low. If you ask my teammates, they’ll say oh yeah, I’ve had plenty of issues, but during the games not as much. Practice when you’re out there for four hours, and there’s not as much time to check it and get a snack or something like that. That’s when I have problems.”
Is is Jeremy Montalbano who also is diabetic?
“The diabetic duo, that’s what we call ourselves. It’s a self-given nickname.”
You were about the least heralded of all the class of 2014 when you arrived. What were your thoughts about your baseball future then?
“I knew I was going to have to work to earn it coming in with these guys that just had tons of emphasis behind their names and such an outstanding recruiting class. I just kind of snuck under the radar, and I was like, all right, let’s go to work. I’m going to have to earn everything. Nothing’s going to be given. That’s just the motto I’ve taken throughout my whole career.
“Freshman year, my performance was terrible. It was awful. My defense was terrible in practice, and I never would have pictured that I would turn into what I am today. It’s taken a lot of hard work in summer ball and practices and during the offseason to try to get to where I am now.”
Why did you choose Tulane?
“Academics was definitely one of the most important things, and there were really only two schools I was looking at—Tulane and Rice. It just came down, I talked to the coaching staff and they said why don’t you show up here, walk on and we’ll give you a chance. That’s what I did.”
When were you put on partial scholarship?
“I got a partial scholarship junior year, and coach Jewett actually helped me out and bumped it out a little bit and I’m not having to pay hardly anything, which is incredible. It was unbelievable. Most of my money’s coming from the academic side, so the academic scholarship’s paid for a lot of it, but the little bit of baseball helped. It really helped take the burden off me and my parents.”
Unlike most power hitters, you hit to all parts of the field and take what the pitchers give you, which is why your average is high. How did you develop that ability?
“It’s a lot of time with coaches that know the game, that help you. Sean Allen, Billy Jones, Gautreau and even coach Pierce, coach Jewett, the head coaches take time. It’s working with them. Even though you build the swing when you’re younger, they tweak it. Every college coach that I’ve had has tweaked my swing a little bit and given me pointers to help develop a well-rounded swing. That’s what you need. You need a swing that’s going to play to all fields. That works better when you’re playing against good pitchers that try to exploit your weaknesses, and you have to adjust. They’ve done a great job helping me along the way.”