Videos by OutKick
No. 1-seeded Arkansas’ season is over as the Razorbacks fell 3-2 to North Carolina State on Sunday, but pitcher Kevin Kopps showed his true sportsmanship after the game.
The loss comes despite an incredible effort from the right-handed senior pitcher, who made his first start of the season in the game.
Kopps threw 118 pitches across 8+ innings and made just two mistakes, but the final one decided the game — a ninth-inning homer by NC State’s Jose Torres, Saturday Down South reports.
Arkansas Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek tweeted that Kopps was still at Baum-Walker Stadium was still out signing autographs for kids and the game had been over for an hour.
OutKick’s Clay Travis said that Kopps’ actions after the loss speaks to his character and his selflessness. He said Kopps put the Razorback fans before himself because the fans desperately wanted to win, too.
“To me, what Kevin Kopps did, right after that difficult loss for the Arkansas Razorbacks is what all of us should hope our sons — our ourselves — will do in the face of great disappointment,” he said. “Get yourself up, dust yourself off and get right back into the fray.”
Kopps also pitched two innings in Saturday’s defeat to the Wolf Pack, SDS reports. This marked his first loss of the season.
Arkansas won the opening game of this series 21-2, but lost the following two games by one run each. North Carolina State now advances to Omaha for the first time since 2013.
Please keep posting these type of stories! I heard it first on Clay’s daily report. It gives me hope in today’s age of Cancel Culture.
Agree definitely!
That’s awesome, especially after such a heartbreak. Good kid
These are the stories I tell/show my kids. These are the stories that need to make social media, nightly news, heck even The NY Times. Instead they write about a high school girl that used the “n” word and ruin her life right when it is about to get started. I hope that girl can get back up, dust herself off and shove it back in The NY Times face someday.
Amen, Douglas…
Absolutely indefensible, what NYT did to that teenage girl!
Great read…thanks
LOVE, Love, love stories like this…
Keep bringing’ the GOOD NEWS, Meg!!
Sportsmanship is dying, and this young man breathed new life into it.
Great work, keep posting and I’ll stay!
Sportsmanship… the heartbeat of America is alive … God bless Kevin and family ❤️🇺🇸
Great story. Kopps is a man unlike, “walk off the court before end of game”, Queen James.
Truly made me a big fan of his after I read this. Great young man!