At 6-foot-5, McAlester junior and multisport athlete Denver Durant has made his name known across Oklahoma’s high school baseball scene. But his focus stretches beyond just personal success.
“I want my legacy at McAlester to be how good I was as a player but also as a person,” Durant said.
That balanced mindset shows in the way he approaches both practice and performance. “I work on what I’m not best at so I can really get as much comfortable with it as I can before the game,” he said. “My mind set is to attack first.”
Durant, who plays shortstop, third base and pitches for the Buffaloes, said he’s determined to sharpen his defensive skills this spring. “My goals are to improve my defense a lot and have at least 10 strikeouts a game,” he said.
His pitching mindset has translated into leadership, both on and off the mound. “Our biggest strength I’ll say is probably our pitching,” Durant said. “Our morale is really good, I feel like.”
He’s already seen growth throughout the roster. “Our team’s biggest improvement is our hitting,” he said. “Our team’s goals are to win a state championship and that we’ve been doing a lot of extra work and getting good at the little things and to be better as people outside of baseball.”
Part of that improvement, Durant said, comes from paying attention to details. “How they’re playing in the outfield, if they’re deep or if they shift over,” he said, describing the approach he takes at the plate.
When reflecting on key moments, Durant quickly points to one that stood out last season. “Definitely having the back-to-back saves against Tahlequah in our district games,” he said.
Durant’s drive is fueled by what he calls his team’s hunger to compete. “It’s our want to and how much we’ve been working to win as much as possible,” he said.
The junior slugger’s numbers back up that work ethic — his summer heading into this season included a .465 average with 40 hits, 21 singles, five doubles, six triples and eight home runs.
Beyond baseball, Durant also plays football for McAlester and has his eyes on the next level. “My plans after high school are to go to college then go to the MLB,” he said.
