While the Henderson Flash hopes to win another Ohio Valley League championship this summer, one player on its roster can boast that he was part of a team that won the Little League World Series. The standout from New Orleans is excited to return to pitching, a position which brought him so much success in the past.
Egan Prather is in his first season with the Flash from Loyola University New Orleans. Before he committed to playing college baseball for the Wolfpack or in Henderson, he was making a name for himself with the Eastbank Little League team in Louisiana.
Prather lived out the dream of every 12-year-old baseball player when he pitched in the Little League World Series championship game against Curacao in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, back in 2019. According to reports on the game, Prather was dominant on the mound, throwing a shutout with six strikeouts, leading his team to an 8-0 victory. Playing for Curacao was Jurdrick Profar, who is currently in the minor leagues and is the younger brother of long-time major leaguer Jurickson Profar.
“To this day, that’s still one of the most amazing places I’ve ever played at,” Prather said. “Looking back on it, I’m so happy I didn’t take that for granted.”
While his play on the field was certainly memorable, Prather said there was so much about the experience that he will never forget. Playing baseball with his best friends, most of whom he is still in contact with, was of course one of the memories of which he is most fond.
Another opportunity which he came to appreciate was meeting players from all over the world and getting to talk baseball and life with them, while learning a bit about their cultures. He talked about playing ping pong and using Google Translate to connect with them.
“The best thing there was hanging out with kids from all over the world, like Japan and Curacao. I would never have ever met those guys if I wasn’t there. It’s just a crazy thing to look back at and experience,” Prather said. “It’s just such a great experience for everybody and really nothing can beat that.”
The kids weren’t the only ones playing at Williamsport either. Every year, MLB hosts the Little League Classic and in 2019 it featured a matchup between the Chicago Cubs and the Pittsburgh Pirates. While the Cubs won 7-1, it wasn’t the score that Prather remembered most.
The Little League players had the opportunity to ride the buses with the professionals to the stadium and spend time hanging out and playing video games with them. After growing up watching baseball all his life, Prather was amazed to hear that the pros were now watching his games in their locker rooms.
For Prather the whole event was quite a culture shock at first. He was used to playing baseball in tournaments and “going with the flow,” but things were much different when it came to the Little League World Series. He and his teammates had to learn to navigate a strict schedule that included media appearances and interviews. When they stepped on the field, they knew they were going to be playing in front of tens of thousands of fans in the stands, let alone the millions of viewers on ESPN.
“It kind of caught up to us, especially me. It caught me off guard. Then, after the first game we kind of just embraced it,” Prather said.
Prather collected two victories and struck out 19 hitters over 14.1 innings in the tournament. Though he continued to pitch throughout his youth, he decided to give up the mound in high school. He then focused on his first love which was being behind the plate. Catching was a family tradition for Prather. He started when he was nine years old, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, his uncle and his cousin, who were all catchers.
His career took an unexpected turn when he got to college, however. He had signed at Loyola to play catcher, but during his redshirt freshman year last season, he started throwing a few bullpen sessions. He performed well and now he is right back where he started playing two-way baseball as both a pitcher and catcher. He called it an advantage, having experience from both perspectives.
“I would definitely say it’s an advantage knowing the brain I have as a catcher and translating that to the mound and knowing what I need to do to get guys out,” said Prather. “Having that catcher in me is just always going to help no matter what.”
Prather is performing both roles for the Flash this summer as well. As of July 14, he has played catcher in six games, while throwing 18.2 innings over eight games as a pitcher. He has enjoyed success on the mound, owning a 1-1 record with a 2.89 ERA and 27 strikeouts.
The secret to his success? Brownies and ice cream.
“That actually started here. Tate, my host family’s son, made brownies one night and we were eating brownies and ice cream. I pitched the next day and I did very well, so I’ve done it every time and it’s been working so far,” Prather said.
As he continues to pursue his dreams of becoming a professional baseball player, Prather hopes to get as many at-bats and innings as possible this summer so that he’s able to get used to pitching regularly again. He wants to work in high-pressure scenarios where he can work on throwing strikes and improving his command of the baseball. Playing with his Flash teammates has been an incredible experience for him.
“We’re a team that plays great with great energy and a great atmosphere. We play for the people that are watching us because we know it’s big in the city. We know people want to see us win and that’s what we’re trying to do for everybody and we play our hearts out every day,” Prather said.
Looking back on his career to this point, Prather has learned many lessons in baseball throughout the years. He shared the best advice he had for his former 12-year-old self and any other young players.
“Just be yourself,” Prather said. “Don’t try to be somebody you’re not…It doesn’t matter what people think about you or anything like that. If you’re always yourself, you’re going to find some of your best friends in life and that’s what I’ve done.”
And don’t forget the brownies and ice cream.
