One morning during spring break of his senior year at Mount Pleasant High, Michael Kopech boarded a bus with the rest of his baseball team. The Tigers had lined up Kopech, their ace, to pitch. He was a lanky right-hander with an enviable fastball, a few months away from becoming a first-round pick. Scouts often trekked several hours east of Dallas to see him. They would follow him out of the district to this game, too.



The bus ambled southward for 90 minutes down US-271, bound for Whitehouse High. Kopech was well aware of who he would face on March 11, 2014. He had known the opposing pitcher for years. Some of his younger teammates were less familiar.



“I’d been hearing chatter on the bus about who they were pitching,” said Christian Moulton, who was a sophomore shortstop. “And they said, ‘Patrick Mahomes.’ And I’m thinking, ‘I have no idea who this guy is.’ I’m asking around, ‘Who is this guy?’...