“It’s not about me.”

That was the motto for the 2009 Brantley varsity baseball team that went on to win the Class 1A state championship in May.

And Brantley head baseball coach Ashley Kilcrease reiterated that fact to the Luverne Kiwanis Club Tuesday.

“Some groups are just extra special to you, and I got really close to last year’s team,” Kilcrease said.

He especially enjoyed his years with then-seniors Anthony Gulley and Stephen Walker, the only two seniors on the team.

“We had seven 9th graders last year—a bunch got to play, but everyone has to know his role, and no one pouted when they didn’t get to play.”

Kilcrease said the players got their championship rings last week, thanks to the generous donations of several in and around the Brantley community.

Kilcrease again came back to the team’s motto of “It’s not about me” and how it hit home with him on a personal level.

“We had finally made it to the state championship, and they printed (assistant coach) Greg Evans’ name as the head coach in the programs,” he explained. “After the games, the media told us where to set up to do interviews, and they kept asking for Greg, thinking he was the head coach.”

“I thought to myself, after all these years and they don’t even have my name down right,” Kilcrease said, laughing. “But then it hit me—the Lord told me it wasn’t about me either—it was about the team and what we had accomplished all together as a team.”

Kilcrease was named as the Class 1A Coach of the Year in May. He is also the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ sponsor at BHS.