Kirk Presley
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Kirk Presley was the 1993 first round draft pick of the New York Mets, who selected him with the #8 overall pick in the draft.
Presley was a pitcher and third baseman for Tupelo High School in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was the strongest pitcher for a Tupelo High School Golden Wave baseball team that was ranked as one of the best teams in the United States in 1992 & 1993. The 1992 team held an unofficial national high school record for no-hitters thrown by a pitching staff with eight (three of which were thrown by Presley). The team won the Class 5A baseball state championships in 1992 and 1993. Presley was 15-0 with an 0.58 ERA during his senior season. He struck out 161 batters in 97 innings and walked only 16. Overall, Presley was 37-1 with an 0.60 ERA during his career at Tupelo High School, where he pitched 22 shutouts and five no-hitters, one a perfect game. After his senior season, he was selected as a first-team high school All-American pitcher by Baseball America.
Presley also played football for the 1991, 1992, and 1993 Tupelo High School football teams. He was the starting quarterback for the school during the 1992 and 1993 seasons. The 1992 squad won the North half Class 5A semi-final game. The 1993 team won the only Mississippi Class 5A football state championship in the school's history.
During his senior year in high school, Presley signed a national collegiate letter of intent to play football and baseball at Mississippi State University. However, he was selected #8 overall in the 1993 Major League Baseball amateur draft. Presley signed a guaranteed $900,000 contract with the Mets, thereby foregoing an athletic career at Mississippi State.
Presley played in the New York Mets minor league organization in 1994 though 1998 in varying levels of Class A. Recurring arm and shoulder injuries ended his baseball career in 1998 before he advanced to the Major League level. In parts of five seasons in the Mets organization, Presley was 8-10 with a 4.04 ERA with 74 BB and 90 K in 147.0 IP. He appeared in 30 games in his minor league career, with 25 coming as a starter.
Kirk Presley is the third cousin of Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock and Roll", who is also a Tupelo, Mississippi native. Kirk's kinship to Elvis Presley was a factor in his increased national visibility his senior year in high school. He was featured in many national publications (including Sports Illustrated), almost always with a reference to his kinship to Elvis and the fact that he lived and played baseball in Elvis' hometown of Tupelo.
Presley currently resides in Tupelo, Mississippi and serves as the head coach for the Tupelo 49ers American Legion baseball team.
