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Mason County Central’s Will Chye: All-around athlete and wiry welder

The Spartans senior’s upbringing on a farm and always being outdoors have served him well.

Through the course of his four-year Mason County Central athletics career, Will Chye has remained pretty steady when the heat is on.

Seems like a great trait for a welder, which is actually his career path.

The wiry, 6-foot-2, 180-pound senior has starred in three sports for the Spartans. He was starting quarterback for the football team and 1,000-point scorer in basketball. But now it’s baseball season and it’s really Chye’s time to shine as a returning all-stater and MCC’s jack of all trades.

“He can run, he can throw, he can hit, he can steal, he can bunt, he’s got great speed,” said Chris Carr, MCC’s sixth-year head baseball coach.

“He’s the best player I’ve ever coached. Respect for coaches, respect for yourself, respect for other players, dedication – he has all those tools as well. It’s not just the five tools. He’s got all the tools outside of that as well. You pile that all together and he’s been the best athlete that I’ve had.”

Chye did it all last baseball season en route to being named a finalist for the CatchMark SportsNet West Michigan Conference Baseball Player of the Year award.

The left-handed hitter batted .560 with 14 doubles, six triples and three home runs, plus he stole 54 bases. On the mound, the right-hander finished 8-5 with a 1.08 ERA as he piled up 69 strikeouts against only nine walks. Primarily a shortstop but also an outfielder defensively, Chye posted a .953 fielding percentage.

Photos by Scott DeCamp | CatchMark

Having been raised on a farm the last nine years, Chye is hands-on and a throwback type of guy. His keen hand-eye coordination and tireless work ethic have served him well and should continue to do so whenever his playing career is over and he settles into the welding trade.

Chye, who carries a 3.87 GPA, spends part of his school days at West Shore Community College in the welding program.

“You’ve got to have really steady hands (for welding), so like hand-eye coordination,” Chye said. “If you mess up with your hands, like you’re using like a 6010, which you have to whip and pause, if you mess that up and go up on the wrong plate, you’re going to mess up the whole weld. That part of it’s not going to be as strong. If you’re not steady, it’s not going to be good – you’re not going to be able to do it.”

Chye, 18, is the eldest of Pat and Roxanne Chye’s four children. On the Chyes’ farm are about 30 cows, eight to 10 hogs, chickens and ducks.

Will Chye and brother Michael, a seventh-grader at MCC, have honed their hand-eye coordination and sharpened their competitiveness with backyard games such as Blitzball.

Chye has grown up in the virtual era of technology and hand-held devices, but he really appreciates anything outdoors, including hunting. He and his father have made trips to Montana for mule-deer hunting.

Mason County Central quarterback Will Chye (2) scrambles during a game against Ravenna on Friday, Sept. 23, 2022, in Scottville, Mich. (Photo by Scott Robar for CatchMark)

“You don’t want to be lazy all day and play on your phone, watch videos or whatever,” Chye said. “I like getting outside, like in the summertime playing Blitzball with my brother. That really works on hand-eye coordination, watching that ball move all over the place.”

Carr, who works in heating and cooling and owns Chris Carr Mechanical in Scottville, spends a lot of time driving from job to job.

Carr has noticed that in more recent years, it’s rare to see young people playing baseball or other sports outdoors. But that was one of Carr’s first impressions of Chye.

“His dad had an AC problem, called me up, and I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll be over in a little bit.’ I pulled up there and there is Willy and Michael just in a pair of shorts playing baseball, throwing the ball back and forth to each other,” Carr said.

“A lot of kids don’t do that anymore and that’s why I believe (Will has) elevated his game. You do all that stuff extra — you’re not on a baseball field, you’re not in a batting cage, you’re not on a mound, but you’re out in your yard and you’re just having fun. A lot of that turns over into eye-hand coordination.”

After skipping football his junior year, Chye played QB and he was an All-West Michigan Conference Rivers Division first-team defensive back last fall.

Photos by Scott DeCamp and Kara Raeth | CatchMark

He was also first-team All-WMC Rivers in basketball, another sport where Chye has enjoyed a good deal of success. In his senior season, Chye averaged 20 points, 8 rebounds and 2.8 assists. The four-year starter closed with 1,291 career points, ranking him fourth all-time at Mason County Central.

Tim Genson, Mason County Central’s longtime basketball coach and athletic director, said that Chye put in many hours during the offseason improving his game and he always did what was asked of him. Genson said that Chye guarded every position on the floor throughout his career.

Chye may come across more even-keel, but according to Genson there is a fire that burns inside.

“Will is almost always a flat-line player, but every once in a while, his competitive juices come out and he can go from zero to 90 right now,” Genson said. “The first time I saw that happen it really surprised me because of how calm Will usually is.”

On the baseball field, Chye’s full skill set was on display during Mason County Central’s season-opening sweep at Shelby Tuesday.

Chye pitched and played shortstop in Game 1. He manned center field in Game 2. He went 3-for-6 at the plate from his cleanup spot with three runs scored, two RBIs and five stolen bases.

“That’s not going to bother me that he’s not going to have a fifth year (of eligibility),” veteran Shelby coach Brian Wright quipped.

“He’s a competitor. It doesn’t matter if he’s on the mound or playing out in the field — I mean, he just competes,” Wright said. “He runs the bases hard. He’s a good baseball player – he really is.”

Chye said that he’s heard from Muskegon Community College coaches about potentially playing basketball and/or baseball, but he has not made any final decisions yet. Muskegon Community College does offer a welding program, which is enticing to him.

Pat Chye has enjoyed a front-row seat during his son’s athletics career at Mason County Central as an assistant coach for basketball and baseball. Like many a parent, he realizes that it goes by in the blink of an eye.

“It’s been a lot of fun. A lot of very proud moments as a parent and as a coach. I couldn’t be more proud of all the things he has accomplished and he has yet to accomplish,” said Pat Chye, who like his son stays very busy with parenting, coaching, farming and working for DTE Energy.

“It’s one of those things where you don’t always appreciate it, but when you really step back and look, he’s just a good kid. He’s kind to all the people around him, good teammate. He really embraces the success of his teammates as well. Just an all-around good kid and a good teammate.”

Lead writer for CatchMark SportsNet and Web Services leader for CatchMark Technologies.

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