Kingfisher’s Favorite Honker

It’s family tradition that motivates this baseball player.

Not the hit song by Hank Williams Jr. - though unconfirmed but the family tradition of father and son playing catch.

Ian Daugherty, a catcher on the Oklahoma State University baseball team and currently playing for the Rochester Honkers during the summer season, knows a thing, or two, about baseball.

As well as family tradition. The long season and countless practices are nothing new to Daugherty thanks to a tradition instilled in him by his father.

“I’ve created a strong work ethic while training with my dad everyday growing up,” said Daugherty, the son of Derek and Micah Daugherty of Kingfisher.

“I don’t plan to waiver from what got me here. It’s just a part of who I am now.”

“Here” this summer for Daugherty is Rochester, Minn.

During the off-season of college baseball, typically coaches send their players to a summer league team to continue honing their skills, Daugherty said.

When his assistant coach found a catching position for Daugherty, he was in.

Daugherty was offered a full contract to play all summer in the Northwoods League, which entails 72 games in 76 days.

It’s an imposing slate that requires an athlete’s unwavering dedication and motivation.

That doesn’t faze Daugherty, who said he’s eager to continue finding new ways to improve.

“I can’t go a day without doing something to get better,” he said. “Feels like a waste of a day to me.”

With the regular summer season spanning until Aug. 10, no day will be wasted in Daugherty’s eyes.

After the 10th, playoffs begin, lasting until Aug. 20. He’ll be with the Honkers the whole time.

Separated from family by 751 miles, a much lengthier distance than when he lives in Stillwater, he admitted, “it definitely is an adjustment being away from home.”

A 2021 KHS graduate, Daugherty led two Yellowjacket teams to the Class 4A state tournament.

In 2019, he was the starting - and winning - pitcher when Kingfisher defeated Verdigris in the 4A state quarterfi nals. It’s the first and only time KHS has won a game at state.

After the COVID year of 2020, the Jackets made it back to state in 2021 before Daugherty headed off to his career as a Cowboy.

That career last summer led him to a league in northeast Tennessee and now to Minnesota.

Multiple family members - including parents and grandparents - have made the trek to Rochester to see Daugherty play this summer.

And there’s the beloved team bond that many athletes know which spans from his home team to Rochester, making his new home feel like home, he shared.

“I’d say it took me one day to start making some good buddies on the team,” Daugherty said.

Now they’re “always together,” from lifting at the gym, running to the gas station, or teaching the “Cali boys how to catch bass,” Daugherty said.

The 11 hours from home leaves little else to do, but spend time together, which he has found enjoyable.

His teammates are from everywhere across the country, leaving him with people he’s glad to have met, as he says it’s not likely their paths would have crossed otherwise.

“Once you start to know the guys, they turn into brothers real quick,” he said.

Yet, it’s not all, or often, free time to fish with his new teammates.

He shared what a typical day is like for him.

“I wake up, head to the gym to get a lift in, grab a bite to eat, then head to the field to start pre-game prep like batting practice then play a game. Then get to bed.”

Repeat. Through Monday, Rochester was 29-30 on the season and sat fifth in the Great Plains East standings.

It’s a competitive league with plenty of big-time talent.

“He’s seeing some of the best pitching he’s ever seen up there,” said his father. “The guys he is facing night in and night out are legit.”

Daugherty has picked his average up to .209, has 12 RBIs and three home runs on the season. He’s also scored 24 times.

He earned “Top Dog of the Night” on July 18 when his three-run homer was the difference in a 4-3 win against Willmar.

That was four nights after his pinch-hit two-run double put his team on top en route to an 8-5 win, also earning him “Top Dog” honors.

But it’s not so much production Daugherty needed this summer, but the reps.

An injury forced him to the sidelines for a long stretch of his 2023 season at OSU.

The catcher broke his hamate bone swinging a bat, which not only was a physical battle, but a mental one as well.

Any frustration the baseball player may have felt was replaced with faith.

“I had high aspirations for my sophomore season, but God had other plans for me,” Daugherty said. “All I can do is trust His plan and know that it is better than anything I can ever imagine.”

Now, he is using the summer as an opportunity to swing back into the groove of the game to “catch up on at-bats that I missed out on.”

The Northwoods League is providing ample opportunity for Daugherty to do so.

He echoed his father in saying the league offers “great competition.”

Each player in the league is currently either a college baseball player or a recently graduated pitcher who has aspirations to play professional baseball.

The league is rich with talent, with 310 of its alumni having advanced to play Major League Baseball since its start in 1994.

This makes the Northwoods League an elite environment for college players to advance their skills and prepare them for their upcoming seasons.

And as his Northwoods League season begins to wrap up, Daugherty said he can’t wait for the 2024 campaign with his Pokes teammates.

“My goal for next season is to be the guy behind the dish and lead the Pokes back to Omaha.”