Athlete of the Week: Kyle Maness was "The Dude" for Ragsdale baseball
Ragsdale baseball coach Donnie Maness felt uncomfortable putting his son, Kyle, on the mound in big moments.
Michael Holder was an assistant coach and is currently Ragsdale's athletics director. In times when it bothered the head coach to put his son in, Holder assured Donnie that Kyle was unflappable, calling him "The Dude," a reference to the character played by Jeff Bridges in the 1998 comedy film, "The Big Lebowski."
In 2024, Ragsdale led Grimsley, 3-1 at home, but the Whirlies threatened as two walks and a hit by pitch loaded the bases with one out.
"I can't tell you how nervous Coach Maness was sitting over there," Holder recalled. "Listen: if he would have had anybody else he could have put in at that moment - the problem was that Kyle earned it …"
Kyle, then a sophomore, struck out the two batters he faced to seal the victory.
Holder turned toward Donnie and said, "The dude abides."
That was a common theme for Kyle. The 2026 graduate, who mixes conventional and submarine deliveries, finished his Ragsdale career 13-1 with a 2.30 ERA over 82.1 innings pitched, striking out 104 and walking 34 in 35 appearances. As a senior, he went 6-1 with a 1.39 ERA, striking out 46 with 11 walks in 35 1/3 innings.
At the plate, he batted .324 for his career. Over his last three seasons, he batted .333 with 64 of his 65 career RBIs.
Holder, one of Donnie's cousins, called Kyle the type of kid who would offer to buy lunch for an adult, the type of kid you would trust to watch your kids and a leader not just with impeccable work ethic but also a demeanor that spread.
The current athletics director said that Kyle often organized team fellowship opportunities and invited teammates for extra practice sessions. He was known to not just call on top players but include everybody.
At Ragsdale's senior awards ceremony on May 21, he received this year's Ronnie Smith Foundation Scholarship, which goes to an athlete from the school with character, leadership and dependability. Smith was a close friend of his father before dying of cancer in 2007, adding to the significance.
"He is obviously a good athlete, he is a really good hitter, kind of an unflappable guy," Holder said. "Kyle is the kind of kid on a field that you don't see get shaken or upset often. He leaves the field with a smile. He leaves the field with a great attitude. He is a kid that picks up his teammates when they are down.
"He is just that all-around kid. Coaches love to have that type of kid on their team because he is so kind in the way he behaves and it helps because it keeps everybody else in a good mood and guys like that, they really like and they want to get behind."
Kyle was naturally drawn to baseball, given his family history. Donnie was a two-time All-Guilford selection at Ragsdale, played collegiately at Barton, then got into coaching at his high school alma mater. He became Ragsdale's head coach in 1996 and is Guilford County's all-time winningest high school baseball coach with 461 victories.
Donnie's brothers Chris and Brian each played collegiately, with Chris also playing professionally in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Chris coached Kyle in little league for many years as his nephew grew up and is currently an assistant coach at High Point University.
Batting left-handed came from playing whiffle ball in the yard as a youngster. The contact hitter only had one home run this season but hit a team-leading .397 with a team-high 25 RBIs. He never struck out in 86 plate appearances and only swung and missed at a pitch once.
"I just like to stick with my approach," Kyle said, "hit the fastball early, just get it out there and don't love striking out much."
On defense, he has played multiple positions in the field, often first or second base when not pitching. He said "all of my pitching came from Chris," including what pitches to throw in what counts.
"Definitely not leaving a fastball down the middle," Kyle said on advice Chris left him. "That's a big one. And he has always helped me stay calm on the mound and not let things get too big."
Kyle had a few college offers but chose Guilford Tech with hopes of playing at a four-year school after being at the community college. He didn't think of GTCC initially, given that it was so close to home but felt different upon meeting GTCC coach TJ Wharton and said the financial offer was much better than other choices.
At GTCC, he will be going on a full ride, getting additional money for supplies.
"As soon as I met Coach Wharton (in October), he has always been awesome to me, so I am really excited to play for him," Kyle said.
Kyle said he benefitted from playing in the High Point-Thomasville HiToms organization last fall, with his batting average at Ragsdale rising from .275 as a junior to near .400 as a senior, in addition to his ERA improving from 2.05 to 1.39.
His good relationship with HiToms president Greg Suire prompted him to join the organization last fall. The good experience led him to playing this summer for the Post 87 HiToms American Legion team, coached by Luke Spiva.
He made his Post 87 season pitching debut on Monday, throwing a hitless, scoreless 1 1/3 innings of relief as they defeated Liberty, 11-4, at Eastern Randolph High School to go 4-1 ahead of Tuesday's home game against Post 8.
"It'll be a good look at what college baseball is going to be like," Kyle said. "It is the first time I have gotten to play with a lot of guys I have played against my whole life, so it's really cool building new friendships. Obviously, Coach Spiva has always been great to me, so I'm happy to play on a team with him."
Kyle doesn't know how to feel not playing for his dad anymore.
"I know he is happy not having to coach me and can just sit back and watch," Kyle said. "I'm a little sad because this is actually the first season I've ever played where he hasn't been a coach for me. It's a little emotional for me because I don't know what to do with myself right now."
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