Baseball Legacy Part II: Zach Fowler

Bison Baseball Legacy Series: Part I-Kevin Olmeda | Part II-Zach Fowler | Part III-Austin Cooper

SHAWNEE – Zach Fowler has been playing baseball ever since he could walk. From a young age he got to be coached by the baseball player he admires the most, his father, Darrin Fowler, who also played at OBU under Coach Bobby Cox. Like his father, Fowler pitches for OBU's baseball team. Although OBU was initially where he wanted to play, Fowler said getting here has been a long road.
 
"My dad played here and I wanted to play here and stay close to home," he said. "But I went to junior college out of high school, and I had several Division I offers to go play."
 
Fowler had actually committed to play at a DI college, but everything changed the night after, when he got an unexpected phone call.
 
"Coach Cox called me the night after I committed and upped my scholarship offer," he said.
 
Immediately Fowler said he dropped his commitment to the other university, and committed to OBU. Since then, Fowler said he hasn't regretted his decision.
 
"I love it, a lot of good things have happened for me since I've been here," he said. "I'm really happy with my decision."
 
Currently Fowler pitches as one of OBU's conference starters, something he's wanted to do since he grew up listening to his father's stories.
 
"You hear the childhood stories of what they did," he said. "It was kind of an ultimate goal to play at OBU."
 
While Fowler said he wants to make his own name as a pitcher at OBU, he doesn't mind following in his father's footsteps a little.
 
"I kind of want to be my own thing," he said. "But when it comes to that it's pretty neat to be able to play for the same coach your dad played for."
 
During his time at OBU Darin Fowler claimed the all-time wins record, which until recently had remained unchallenged.
 
"He's in the hall of fame," he said. "He's in the category leaders for pitching."
 
So, when the time came for Fowler to learn to play, who better to teach him the basics than his own father?
 
"He coached me, all the way since I could walk," he said. "He coached me and my group of kids all the way through little league from t-ball to high school."
 
From t-ball to high school, Fowler said his father has always been right there with him.
 
"He was the head coach all the way to high school and then he was the assistant coach in high school," he said. "He coached me and my brother both all the way up through, and a lot of my best friends."
 
Having played on at least twenty teams total growing up, Fowler said his father wasn't the only one to help him to learn to play and pitch. However, when it comes to his success, Fowler gives his dad the credit.
 
"He was a good pitcher, he was one of the best at OBU," he said. "I attribute a lot of my success to him. We think the same way and play the game the same way and he always made sure that you play the game right and have the right attitude towards the game."
 
When his baseball career does come to an end, Fowler said he wants to follow once more in his dad's footsteps and become a firefighter. For now Fowler will continue to pitch in honor of his father's legacy, while making his own.