Power Pair:
Gann and Hoover Slugger
Lead All-OTM Baseball Team
Doug Gann is no stranger to All-Over the Mountain teams.
As a standout athlete at Homewood in the 1980s, Gann was a regular selectee for All-Over the Mountain teams in baseball and football.
“That was a long, long time ago,” he said.
In 2012-13, Gann went back to the future.
As baseball coach at his alma mater, Gann led the Patriots to a 32-9 record, the Class 5A Area 9 championship and a strong run in the state playoffs. The impressive mark apparently impressed his peers in the coaching profession. An exclusive poll of the eight Over the Mountain head coaches that compete in Classes 6A and 5A chose Gann as the 2012-13 Over the Mountain Coach of the Year.
“This all feels a little strange after all these years,” Gann said. “It’s a good feeling, but an honor like this really tells the story of what our kids accomplished this season. They are the ones that should get the credit.”
The coaches also chose Michael Powers, Hoover’s hard-slugging outfielder, as the 2012-13 Over the Mountain Player of the Year.
Powers hit for a .375 average with 54 runs and 10 doubles to help the Bucs to a 35-14 record and the brink of a state championship.
“An honor like this is special because it comes from the coaches and because you’re measured with guys that you’ve competed with and against since we were all little kids,” said Powers, a senior. “It’s a nice way to end the season.”
Six of Powers’ Hoover teammates joined him on the All-Over the Mountain team, also chosen by the coaches. They were Geoffrey Bramblett, Major Haley, Ian Kirk, Josh Rich, Connor Short and Trace Turner.
Four of Gann’s Patriots also qualified for the team: Brian Browning, Luke Porter, Connor Rivers and Mason Schoettlin.
Other players making the team included Tanner Cunningham and Daniel Robert, Briarwood; Zach Poticny and Tristan Widra, John Carroll Catholic; Sam Centeno and Douglass Hubbard, Mountain Brook; Heath Quinn, Oak Mountain; Josh Close and Grant Veteto, Spain Park; and Schaefer Amos and Price Visintainer, Vestavia Hills.