By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
LEWISTON, Idaho – The stats say LSUS third baseman/outfielder/second baseman/shortstop Josh Gibson is a different cat.
A .442 batting average, 79 runs scored in 54 games, 15 doubles, 5 triples, 8 home runs, 67 RBI – oh, don’t overlook the 52 steals and only four times has he been caught trying to swipe a base.
It’s no wonder he was the Player of the Year in the Red River Athletic Conference. It’s no wonder that he’s been a three-year all-conference pick while playing shortstop two seasons ago, left field last year and now, third base.
At 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, he’s not going to impress anyone in the other dugout – until he’s wearing a glove, has a bat in his hand, or is taking a lead.
But it’s the eye test, and the competitive heart, that really make Gibson the focal point of not only the NAIA’s No. 1-ranked baseball team, but one of the most remarkable squads in college baseball history.
What other team has ever, ever been 54-0? Other than a two-year school in Texas, Howard College, nobody, nowhere, at no time.
And it’s not that perfection that Gibson is obsessive about. It’s giving it everything he can, every day, every play. It’s a coach’s dream, except Gibson’s effort is so extreme that LSUS coach Brad Neffendorf worries about it.
“Sometimes I have to tell him to gear down because you watch and wonder how can he sustain that level of effort,” the Pilots’ coach said. “But he does it.”
What Gibson has done is help spark LSUS to the NAIA World Series for the first time since 2022. The Pilots open play Friday at 1:30 CDT against 10th-seeded Grand View (Iowa) in a 10-team, double-elimination bracket that will run through May 31 to determine a national champion.
For all the baseball skills Gibson flashes, it’s the intangibles that stand out to Neffendorf.
“When he gets going, he sticks out like a sore thumb. He can really run, and has close to 60 stolen bases, but it’s moreso his instincts for the game, his feel for being an athlete – things you can’t teach, those things just glare to you about him.
“The overall quality is he plays extremely hard. His hard is way different than everybody else, because he can. The way it flows for him, he has a burst of speed, going side to side laterally, coming in on balls, stuff not many people can do. He’s got a different variety of athleticism than most people.”
Gibson comes by it naturally, he says. Growing up 15 minutes east of St. Louis in O’Fallon, Ill., Gibson had a role model – his dad, who played Division I ball at Southern Illinois-Carbondale. And the Pilots’ senior dynamo is a chip off the old block.
“He was a utility player, and that’s where I get it from. He always taught me if you want to play, you have to find a spot on the field,” said the younger Gibson. “My first year here I played shortstop, then my second year I was in left field most of the time, and now I’m back in the infield at third base. Growing up with my dad doing the same thing instilled me to do the same thing. It’s fun being in a new spot. It keeps me in the game.”
What has stoked his fire since last summer is the sting of postseason shortfalls in 2023 and 2024, when LSUS hosted NAIA Opening Round brackets but was upset and denied a World Series berth.
“The past two years, how it ended for us wasn’t easy. We work extremely hard and to fall short (of the World Series) was tough. Coming back this year, I felt this was the time to do it, my last go-round.”
The Pilots, who are nearly all seniors and juniors, haven’t wavered from their singular objective – and it is not to win every game.
“We’re all on the same page, first of all. We have a lot of returners back, and as soon as we got here in the fall, we had one goal in mind – to win the last game of the year.”
Gibson’s more than done his part. He doesn’t dwell on his statistical contributions, and tries to bring added value along with his output. A self-scout:
“A player that’s reliable, who can get it done on the field in multiple ways. I’m not the biggest guy but I’ve got some pop behind my bat. I can lay down a bunt, steal bags, and I can play different positions.”
“My responsibility for the team is to keep doing what we’ve been doing, making sure everyone’s staying on the same page and keeping that energy going for the rest of the season. It’s funny to hear me described as a leader because I feel like everyone is a leader. We all play such a big role. It’s not just one person.”
It’s not. But along with being a “glue guy” for the team and a charming personality around it, Gibson does bring qualities that have triggered this season’s incredible run.
“He’s done so much for us, spearheaded us on the offensive and defensive sides, being the conference player of the year,” said Neffendorf. “We have a lot of guys who have done a lot of good things, but if we didn’t have Josh with all he can do, it’s tough to say where we’d be right now.”
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com