He took the South Side baseball program to a plateau it had never been. And Friday, Will Coursen-Carr capped his high school career with the state's highest individual honor and made history in the process.
Coursen-Carr is the first player from a Fort Wayne high school to be named Indiana Mr. Baseball.
Hoosier Diamond magazine presented the award to the Indiana University recruit at the 2012 All-Star Banquet in Jasper.
The pitcher/first baseman led the Archers to their best season in school history.
South Side was 20-8 and won its first-ever sectional title – a stunning 4-1 win over Homestead in the final – when the lefthander struck out 11 Spartans and held their vaunted offensive attack to only five hits.
The next week he threw a complete game 5-1 victory over McCutcheon in the regional semifinals.
The 20 wins by the Archers were the most in school history.
Coursen-Carr had a 10-1 record with a 0.40 ERA and struck out 134 batters.
Although he is known mostly for his pitching prowess, Coursen-Carr also excelled at the plate. He batted .488 this season while hitting four home runs and collecting 36 RBIs.
Coursen-Carr is in Jasper for the annual Indiana All-Star Series. He will play for the North team in a three-game series against the South. A doubleheader will be played today and a single game Sunday.
