Pitching on the Farm
Dontre Henry grew up working on his family's 500 acre farm; now he will pitch at Mississippi Valley State
The Louisiana parish of St. Landry is home to the ‘Spice Capital of the World’, where the small town of Opelousas produces and sells a myriad of spices and seasonings, including the products of Opelousas born, Hall of Fame Chef Tony Chachere.
Amid the town of just over 15,000 people lives Dontre Henry, the latest baseball signee of Mississippi Valley State, who throws just as much heat when he is on the diamond as the natives use to doctor up their meat.
The pitcher honed and developed his craft by throwing fire right next to the corn stocks a la ‘Field of Dreams’ style.
Over a decade of summers and weekends, Dontre Henry has worked on his grandparents’ farm. Henry Farms has over 500 acres of land where the rising high school senior helped raise livestock, mend fences and tend to the crops.
Pitching on the Farm
Although he grew up a mere 13 minutes away from the farm, Henry would stay at the farm, rise early, and often worked 14 hours until 8 p.m. Henry described:
“I wake up at 5:30, brush teeth, get dressed, drink coffee and then at 6 we are out the door to either go check the cows or the fences to make sure they are all good. We would check all the animals, make sure they were fed everyday. We would bail hay and shred pastures. It is very fun to do but very tiring.”
The farm is responsible for growing crops like watermelon, tomatoes, squash, peppers okra and sugar cane as well as raising livestock such as chickens, hogs, cows, horses, turkeys and sheep.
It was through herding sheep were Henry learned lessons of leadership and applied them to his team sports.
“I am the leader of the sheep when I am herding them” Henry explained. Being a leader is all about “showing others where to go and lead by example instead of following.”
Those hard working summers paid off as Henry turned into a star six-foot-four, three-sport athlete with a 3.2 GPA at Opelousas High School. Playing baseball, basketball and nearly every position on the football field, including punter, Henry has been a key clog in the team’s successes.
This past junior year, Henry had a wildly ambitious athletic schedule and his impact was significant:
Game-tying touchdown reception in the playoffs
A double double (20, 10) in the playoffs second round vs two 6-foot-10 bigs
An early season complete game shut out vs Holy Savior Menard
When our team spoke with Henry, is was after his baseball practice and about 20 hours before his next AAU basketball game. In the modern age of high school athletics where so many are pressured to specialize in one sport, Henry continues to play all three.
His family is a big reason why.
Family Support
Growing up with four older siblings, Dontre was molded to be his best self whether he was working the farm, playing sports or being kind to others.
“They always push me to be the best person and athlete I can be.” Dontre described. “They were very hard on me; I really appreciate them being like this because it will pay off in the long run.”
His brothers and sisters helped get him involved in sports growing up, however, it was his dad who was his teacher.
“Since I was young, my dad taught me the mechanics of all three sports.” Henry recalls. “[My family] always pushed me to keep going and never give up no matter how good or bad you do.”
While Dontre Henry grew up working a 500 acre farm; he now specializes working in the 60 feet, six inches of space between the pitcher’s mound and home plate. The Opelousas Catholic Vikings (23-10) made it all the way to the semifinals before falling in this year’s state tournament.
As he explained to us, despite playing three sports, Henry’s favorite is without a doubt baseball.
“Since I was young I always watched the MLB and I always had a spot in my heart for baseball.”
So when Mississippi Valley State offered a full baseball scholarship, despite being recruited by several other programs and gaining some slight Power 5 interest, Henry took it.
“The thing that made me choose MVSU were the coaches. They really made me feel at home and the campus is just amazing.”
Hunting, Fishing, Riding
Henry operates best when he is standing alone. And that is not restricted to only the pitcher’s mound.
Hunting, fishing and horseback riding are three main activities that he loves to do out in the country.
“I ride, hunt and fish out in the country where it is quiet. The best thing about doing so is I am at peace and don’t have anything to worry about” Henry said.
Similar to baseball, Henry can be by himself, alone stalking his prey, focusing on his craft, strategy and execution.
In the wilderness, the weapons may be a fishing pole or a gun. On the mound, he has five weapons to choose from: the curveball, slider, circle change up and both a two and four-seam fastball.
His ammo? A nine-inch, five-ounce ball hurling around towards the plate at 85-87 miles per hour.
An NIL Jump Start
Henry already has close to 24,000 followers on Instagram and has recently announced his partnership to sell custom merchandise with Boosted Biz.
Henry is not targeting or hoping for a partnership with any specific brand, but would evaluate the opportunities as they present themselves and be grateful for any deals that come his way.
His truest motivation for capitalizing on NIL is to give back to his parents. Henry told us:
“I want to give back everything my parents have given to me when I was in high school to show that I appreciate everything they did.”
The dream is to make it all the way to the MLB, but Henry expects to be working on the farm one way or another. If not, through the minor league farm system then to major in agriculture and work as a farmer post graduation.