HICKORY, N.C. — Dakota McCann loves the game of baseball, and he's using that passion for the sport to help the Catawba Valley Community College baseball program.

McCann has been a student assistant coach for the Red Hawks for the past three seasons, lending his unique expertise and knowledge in any way he can to assist CVCC's players and coaches.

He first developed a relationship with current Catawba Valley head baseball coach Paul Rozzelle during the Powerade State Games — an event McCann volunteers his time to.

"We were recruiting a couple of guys from his high school," Rozzelle said of McCann. "He said he wanted to come to school here. (Former Forbush head baseball) coach (Denny) Key talked about him being an unbelievable baseball guy, and he loved being around it and was a great manager. We just decided to have him come out and hang out with us a little bit. He's been nice to have around."

McCann, who is known by his nickname "D-Mac," came to Catawba Valley after serving as a student baseball manager at his alma mater of Forbush High School, and he also spent time working with Dirtbags Baseball — one of the largest travel baseball organizations in the state of North Carolina.

Moving from Winston-Salem, McCann enrolled at CVCC to pursue his Associate in Arts degree while also assisting the Red Hawks' baseball program with stat keeping.

"I like to follow the stats and know where everyone is playing," McCann said. "It just comes natural. I've been around some pretty good coaches in my life. I think it's helped me. I just like following the players and seeing how they do."

CVCC freshman first baseman Tyler Campbell is a former Forbush classmate of McCann, and the two kept in touch even after McCann graduated from high school one year before Campbell.

"He's just a fountain of random information," Campbell said of McCann. "It just comes out of him. He knows every good baseball player from every state. He's a smart guy. If you find anyone good at baseball, he knows anything and everything about them. It's just crazy."

Red Hawks' sophomore Daniel Brinegar, who played at rival Elkin High School against McCann's Forbush teams, has developed a deep relationship with McCann on and off the field.  

"We were in the same graduating class, and I played his teams every year in baseball," Brinegar said. "I always saw him. He's just the nicest guy. He reached out to me and told me he loved what I was doing. He's always been supportive of me and my career. He's always believed in me, and he's always given me that extra edge."

The friendship between McCann and Brinegar has grown, and the two have been seen attending random baseball games together.

Through those random trips, Brinegar has been able to see more of McCann's special ability to see the small details inside the game.

"He'll be able to pick out abilities of certain guys that I wouldn't be able to see," Brinegar said of McCann. "He notices the little things about the game, like a pitcher's holds. He'll see a hole in the batter's swing. He can see things on the field that could help us as a team that we may not notice. He notices it pretty quick like it's nothing. It's pretty cool to see just to see how much he knows about the game.

"He's made a heck of an impact on my life outside of baseball," Brinegar added. "He's an incredible friend to have."

McCann has enjoyed the camaraderie between himself and many of the Red Hawk players, but he says that Brinegar and Campbell are among his favorite players, as well as CVCC alumni and current collegiate standouts Chandler Jenkins (East Carolina), Taylor Purus (Western Carolina) and Riley Smith (Appalachian State).

"A lot of these guys have meant a lot to me," McCann said. "They've been good friends, and we've stayed in contact with each other. We help each other every day. Having these guys makes every day easier."

The past three years for McCann haven't come without his share of adversity. His grandfather died two years ago, and his mother passed away during this past winter.

"He's gone through a lot in these last three years here," Rozzelle said. "To have the team around him and a bunch of guys around him who really treat him like he's player, I think it's been good for him."

Through that tragedy, the Red Hawks have rallied around McCann during his most troubling of times.

"Baseball has always been here for him, and that's huge for him going through losing his grandpa and what he went through recently with his mom," Campbell said. "We are here as a team, and he is a part of our team. We help him out a lot, but he helps us out a lot."

As for his future, McCann is hoping his passion and knowledge of baseball as well as the connections he's made through the game will help him achieve his ultimate career goal — becoming a professional scout.

"I'm just trying to stay in sports because I think sports will always be around," he said. "The statistics part — I like that. Looking at the numbers and following them, I really like the scouting part of baseball. I like that a lot."

Rozzelle has confidence McCann can one day achieve his dream career.

"He's made so many connections in baseball," Rozzelle said. "There's not a lot of people in North Carolina who don't know who Dakota McCann is. Those relationships are going to pay off one day for him. His knowledge of the game and his relationships — those things combined — he's going to be in baseball as long as he wants to be."