Slugger joins FIU baseball team’s 20-homer club in record time

Kishon Frett wasn’t just hitting balls over the fence. His shots in batting practice were sailing to the tops of the tall trees that sit at least 50-to-80 feet beyond the left-field wall.

“It was majestic,” FIU Panthers hitting coach and recruiting coordinator Brian Jeroloman said when asked about the first time he saw Frett in action. “I took out my phone to videotape his BP. On the video, you can hear me say, ‘Wow!’”

After the game, here’s what Jeroloman told Frett, a right-handed hitter who was at Seminole State College of Florida at the time:

“I’m going to make you a Panther. You are going to be wearing navy and gold.

“We will kick your butt (during workouts and practice), but we will get you ready. We will develop you.

“Your future is so bright. You are going to be a monster for us.”

Jeroloman was right.

Frett has been Godzilla for the Panthers this year, hitting .291 with eight doubles, three triples, 20 homers and a 1.076 OPS. He has also scored 57 runs in 54 games.

In addition, Frett leads Conference USA in homers, and his 20 dingers rank fourth in FIU single-season history, trailing Brad Eldred (29 in 2002); Tyler Townsend (24 in 2009); and Luis Fernandez (21 in 1998).

“It’s a great achievement,” Frett said of reaching the 20-homer club. “But I’m not satisfied. I want 25-to-30.”

When a Panthers player homers this season, his teammates place an FIU “Vice” football helmet on his head and then shower him with water.

Frett, a corner outfielder, has had a lot of those Vice baths this year, and he has a chance to add to his totals this week at the Conference USA postseason tournament in Lynchburg, Virginia.

Sixth-seeded FIU (30-25), which has already secured the most wins by a Panthers team since 2017, will play its first game on Wednesday at 9 a.m. against third-seeded Kennesaw State (29-25).

The double-elimination tournament concludes on Sunday, and the Panthers need to win it to secure their first NCAA regional berth since 2015.

It helps that the Panthers have Frett.

Jeroloman remembers the first time Frett – who at that time was 6-3 and 215 pounds – went to an FIU game. This was in the spring of 2023. Frett had just committed to the Panthers, and he was there to watch his future team.

“Kish was wearing a sleeveless T-shirt,” Jeroloman recalled. “Mario Fernandez, who pitched for us at that time, looked at Kish and said, ‘Is he committed to us?’”

Translation: How did FIU get a stud like this?

The answer is that Frett – an Ocala native who played his high school ball at Broward County’s Calvary Christian – wrecked his knee twice, both times playing basketball.

“I’ve hung up my hooping shoes since then,” Frett said.

Frett’s first ACL injury happened during his sophomore year of high school. He had committed to Florida, but – after the injury – the Gators withdrew his scholarship money.

A catcher at the time, Frett ended up at the first of his two junior colleges -- Wabash Valley, located in Mount Carmel, Illinois.

But Frett’s second ACL injury ended his Wabash career before he played a single game, and he transferred to Seminole State, which is located less than an hour away from his hometown of Ocala.

Frett slugged eight homers as a Seminole State freshman, but he blew up as a sophomore in 2023, hitting .345 while leading the national junior-college ranks with 20 dingers.

That’s when Jeroloman – during his normal recruiting checks – talked to Mike Nicholson, Seminole State’s coach.

“(Nicholson) told me, ‘Brian, this kid is going off. He looks the part.’”

Jeroloman said “looking the part” is something scouts look for as it can be a predictor of future success.

Given that, Jeroloman was blown away the first time he saw Frett.

This was before he took batting practice.

“I said, ‘Holy Christmas – that’s him!’” said Jeroloman, sounding a bit like someone seeing a great white shark. “You could see his quads from half a football field away.”

Jeroloman said the “body comparison” for Frett is former Marlins star Giancarlo Stanton, who is a physical specimen at 6-6 and 245 pounds.

Frett, who turned 23 in January, said he is now up to 225 pounds with an incredibly low body-fat percentage of 4.6. That’s down from 13.6 percent just a couple of years ago.

Panthers head coach Rich Witten was impressed when he saw Frett’s first batting practice on FIU’s field.

Asked Witten: “What’s the catch?”

There wasn’t any.

Frett has been good on and off the field, including the fact that he graduated two weeks ago with a Bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.

After he is done playing baseball, Frett would like to be a teacher, a coach or a journalist.

“I did commentating at two FIU basketball games this year,” Frett said, “and it was exciting.”

On the field, though, is where Frett has truly shined, slugging 36 homers in two years at FIU.

Only three players have more career homers at FIU: Eldred (44); Townsend (43); and Mike Martinez 37).

However, Eldred and Martinez posted those numbers in four years at FIU; Townsend did it in three; and Frett in just two.

Jeroloman, a former New York Yankees scout, said he will know about two weeks before the MLB Draft in July what Frett’s prospects are in terms of getting selected.

“They’d be signing the bat,” Jeroloman said of Frett’s power. “When you can hit like he can, scouts don’t worry too much about defense.

“Having said that, Kish is an amazing runner for a guy his size.

“You can’t even call him a below-average defender anymore. He has worked so hard to improve. His routes to the ball are so much better. He has good range, and his arm is better than you’d think.”

Indeed, Frett has four outfield assists this season and just one error.

“I wouldn’t be shocked if he gets drafted in rounds eight through 15,” Jeroloman said. “I also wouldn’t be shocked if it doesn’t go as well as he would like due to his age and injury history. But whatever organization gets him will be very happy.”

No matter what happens, though, Frett is not a person Jeroloman will forget.

“He’s one of those kids you fall in love with,” Jeroloman said. “If he were to call me 10 years from now needing something, I would do anything to help him.”