From the moment Curtis King swung his first plastic bat in the backyard, he knew he was destined to play baseball. 

Growing up in the small town of Acton, Ont where baseball was a way of life, King spent endless hours practicing his swing, fielding grounders, and dreaming of the day he would step onto a college field as a baseball player. 

King’s baseball skills became more apparent as he got older. He was a formidable opponent in his early years, a power hitter with a powerful arm. His teammates and coaches were in awe of his innate skills and anticipated a promising future for the young athlete. 

King said, “I realized from a young age I was better than the average player.”

Coach Brian Collins of the Halton Hills Eagles who coached King in his early years of baseball describes King as “Persistent”

Collins says, “I’ve never seen a young athlete with so much drive and passion to achieve his goals.”

Teammates of King would agree.

One of his former teammates, Curtis Hopkins saying “It was always a pleasure sharing the field with him, he’s always been a great person to be on a team with.”

Curtis King grew a name for himself even before he started high school. He was bound for greatness with a fastball that seemed to defy gravity and a swing that could send baseballs to another planet.

King had to decide as graduation drew near that would determine how his playing career would unfold: where to play baseball after graduation. He considered his alternatives and decided to go to Humber College, the home of the Hawks baseball club. It was impossible to turn down the chance to perform for a reputable program in our community.

King said, “Being a Humber Hawk means so much, when it was time to decide where to attend school, the choice was easy, Humber.”

He was excited to get his chance to shine on the collegiate scene when he arrived on campus. But he found out very quickly that the game of college baseball was very different. His determination was tested by the intense competition and the pressure of juggling academics and athletics. He plunged himself into training, aiming to prove he was good enough to make the team.

King said, “The transition from high school and club baseball to playing at the college level is extremely different. Growing up in a small town you don’t get as many chances for big tournaments, and games vs big teams so the better competition is definitely there. But one of the biggest changes I saw personally was the culture.”

King faced a good number of difficulties during his first year at Humber College. He was physically and emotionally exhausted after long practice sessions, tough workouts, and late-night study sessions. Curtis came out stronger and more motivated than ever thanks to his diligence and perseverance.

King said, “Coming in as a 17-year-old, I didn’t expect to fail, so getting hit around a little bit at the start impacted me but this team’s culture every year sticks with you and all your teammates only want to see you succeed so having that comfort all the time whether that’s in-season or the off-season helped me.” 

King entered his first season as a Humber Hawk in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. The challenge this was trying to overcome being in a new setting, to not even fully be able to be on campus was tough.

King said, “ I was living at home in Acton, Ontario, about a 50-minute drive each day when we had baseball. One struggle I did face was driving back and forth to our practices, games, team meetings, indoor training, team lifts, and all kinds of events that we had during our season so that was a lot of gas and time used up for that.”

King is currently in his 4th and final year at Humber College and he describes his best season as his 3rd season with the Hawks in 2023.

King said, “I saw the most work on the mound in my career, plus stuff with my personal stats and pitching metrics.”

Unfortunately, that season didn’t end the way the Humber Hawks had anticipated it, losing to St. Clair in the finals.

He describes this as a disheartening loss after back-to-back finals appearances with no hardware to show for it.

King has worked tirelessly on getting over the hump of college-level play while maintaining his grades in academics. He looks to leave a staple on the Humber College and the Humber Hawks baseball program before his final year is complete. Look for Curtis King to make a roar in this upcoming season.