In January, Division I UC Davis Baseball commit Matthew Barnes II transferred to Dougherty Valley High School from El Cerrito High School. After getting his NCS clearance, Barnes is preparing to pitch for the first time in a Wildcats uniform.
Despite being a recent transfer student, Barnes is expected to leave a lasting impact on the team by imbuing his teammates with experience.
“I think he gives the rest of his teammates and the boys a presence that was lacking because Barnes is committed to go play baseball. He sets a different standard of what our expectations are as a program,” DVHS varsity head coach Kyle Stewart said. “Whether guys want to play in college or not, it’s important that we have somebody there.”
Though Barnes dabbled in a variety of sports including football, track, tennis and gymnastics at a young age, it was the dedication and patience needed in baseball that drew him to the sport.
Standing at 6’4” and weighing around 185 lbs, alongside being the son of a college football player, Barnes has a natural gift for athleticism in a variety of sports, including basketball and football. However, he contends that finding success as a baseball player is far from just “being a natural” and more about hard work.
“Obviously I’m pretty big and most people would say ‘you look like a basketball player’ or ‘you just play football.’ Those are just kind of brutally athletic sports, which is fun, and I’m athletic and I can compete in those sports,” Barnes said. “But I like the aspect of baseball that is more skill-oriented rather than just ‘I can be a better athlete than you.’ You have to earn it a little bit more in baseball.”
Barnes’ pride in hard work comes from what his father taught him back when he was still playing Little League baseball. Throughout Little League, his father, though not as knowledgeable in baseball as in football, chose to become a volunteer coach, offering Barnes the support he needed. However, Barnes’ father made sure that Barnes trained as often as possible, rarely getting a day of break.
“[My father] certainly made it clear, ‘I’m not going to give you this because you’re my kid. You’re going to work for it,’” Barnes said.
His grandmother stands out as another huge influence, since she was the one that drove him to the hitting facility that he trained at as a child in San Francisco.
“As a kid, you’re like, ‘yeah, my grandma’s always here.’ But then you realize how much it cost her, driving me to San Francisco all the time for baseball lessons,” Barnes remarked. “She made me realize that baseball is important to me, sports are important to me, but it’s just a game. I think there’s the balance of ‘I’m competitive and I want to do this, but what am I doing it for?’
I think that’s one of the things I’ve learned from the most influential people in my life. Despite having her own job and opportunities, she prioritized her grandchildren.”
Currently, Barnes trains every single day, even if it is an activity as simple as stretching.
“How I think about it is you shouldn’t be fighting yourself,” Barnes said. “If I didn’t want to [play baseball] I wouldn’t do it. Nobody’s forcing me to spend whatever time I do, so there’s no point in counting like I’m some sort of victim to my own choice.”
