Matt Goodheart

Matt Goodheart -Razorback Baseball (2019-2021)

Matt Goodheart, a native of Magnolia, Arkansas, played collegiate baseball at the University of Arkansas from 2019-2021 and currently plays professionally for the Lincoln Saltdogs in Lincoln, NE. Though baseball has been woven into the fabric of his story, his story isn't really about baseball. It's about something bigger.

And, no, it's not about those new contact lenses he got in 2019.

It's a story about the ebbs and flows of a faith journey. It's a story about what happens when faithful followers of Jesus continue to sow seed and how God can transform the heart of one person from rocky soil to good soil that can bear fruit one-hundred fold.

To tell that story we have to go back a little further. Specifically to 2016, when Matt is a junior in high school. Matt, some friends, and fitness coach J.R. Bunner opened Cameo CrossFit in Magnolia, AR. On the wall of the gym there's a quote posted that says...

"Fate whispers to the warrior, 'You cannot withstand the storm.' The warrior whispers back, 'I am the storm.'”

On Matt's right side he has a tattoo that says אני הסערה, which translates from Hebrew to ,"I am the storm." To this day Matt will write that phrase on his wrist tape every time he takes the field.

When you think of "man of God", think J.R. Bunner. J.R. wasn't just an obedient Jesus follower, he was a disciple-maker. On Sunday's he would lead a devotional at Cameo CrossFit prior to the day's workout. Despite being around for all of this, Matt just wasn't there spiritually.

Matt confesses that, growing up in Magnolia, he absolutely knew what it meant to be a Christian - he understood salvation, he was well aware of Jesus, he was frequently around Jesus-followers - and because of that he absolutely knew he wasn't one, or (at the very least) wasn't living like one.

At least, not yet.

By the time Matt was a senior in high school the gym had, "grown from 5 middle-aged women to one of the biggest gyms in Magnolia, AR." One night, J.R. tragically passed away in his sleep. He had stopped breathing and never woke up. The impact that J.R. had on Matt’s life and on the lives of many other’s in his mission field of Magnolia, AR cannot be understated. It left Matt emotionally and spiritually shattered. He struggled with some tough questions like, “How could a God who loves us let us hurt like this?” A question many of us, believers and unbelievers, have battled in our lifetime. Matt was ready to block out faith altogether.

After graduating from High School, Matt spent one year at San Jacinto College before transferring to the University of Arkansas in 2019.

Matt was living selfishly and had little to no qualms with that. Matt wasn't put-off by or intolerant of Christians, he just had no desire to live that way. You might even say that Matt's heart was like rocky soil that Jesus describes in his parable in Matthew 13.

In his first year at the Univeristy of Arkansas Matt's roommate (both at home and when the team travelled) was former Razorback first baseman, Trevor Ezell. Trevor, a faithful Jesus-follower, started tilling Matt's rocky heart by reflecting Christ's love in how he lived and sharing truth with Matt.

Then, along came 2020. In regards to baseball, there really isn't much to say about 2020. Matt started in all 16 games the Razorbacks managed to play before everything came to a grinding halt due to COVID-19. A season of baseball ended, but a season of life-change was about to begin.

At the beginning of Summer Matt confesses that anything and everything he did was for his own benefit. He didn’t really care about how his actions impacted others. However, deep down he knew there was something about his selfishness that conflicted with who he wanted to be as a person. He didn't recognize it at the time, but the Holy Spirit was starting to move in Matt's heart.

Due to the uncertainty of COVID-19, the first half of the 2020 Summer was largely uneventful. For a while there was speculation that COVID-19 might quickly blow over and that everything, including baseball season, would be back on track. Matt's primary goals were (1) stay at home and (2) don't get sick.

As a result, Matt ended up spending a lot of time with his roommate, former Razorback pitcher, Kevin Kopps. For guys like Matt and Kevin, sitting on your hands all summer is not an easy thing to do. One day Matt and Kevin swiped some weights from the old coaches weight room at Baum-Walker Stadium and set up shop in their garage. Matt fondly looks back on that is being, "the most in-shape [he has] ever been."

Working out wasn't the only thing Matt and Kevin did together. During that time they engaged in some deep, soul-revealing conversations that led to questions about life and faith that Matt had willfully ignored over the past couple years.

At one point Matt found himself saying, "I am lonely. I need something else in my life. I need to figure out what that is."

Those conversations with Kevin led to some more spiritual conversations with Brandon Moore (former Razorback pitcher and baseball team chaplain), Chad Stephenson (Matt's former youth pastor), and Cortez McCraney (University of Arkansas FCA Area Director). Every step of the way the soil that is Matt's heart was becoming more and more receptive to the restoring power of grace and mercy offered by Christ alone.

On April 25th, 2020, Matt was sitting in his truck and started thinking to himself. MAYBE the platform he’s been given isn’t by accident. MAYBE this whole thing is bigger than baseball. He said these words out loud.

“I am not here by accident. I am here in this position to positively impact and inspire others in the name of the Lord.”

Queue the happy tears.

The very next thing he did was called Cortez and told him he was ready to surrender his life to Jesus.

Matt was entering a season of his life that, on paper, should have been full of anxiety and stress. In his final two semesters he was staring down fall ball, spring ball, a jam packed classroom scheduled, and a the MLB Draft. To be honest, Matt isn't even sure why he wasn't tearing his hair out over what he was facing, but I supposed that's why they say it's a "peace that surpasses all understanding". (Philippians 4:8)

In the Summer of 2021, prior to signing a contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, Matt travelled back to the Cape Cod league where he played his final games an amateur with the Orleans Firebirds.

Matt was one of the last guys to show up and many of the jersey numbers had already been picked up (including his #10) by guys who arrived before him, but as he rummaged through the box he noticed that nobody had snagged #45, the jersey number Kevin, his former teammate/roommate and forever brother in Christ, wore at Arkansas.