Khalid Collymore wasn’t originally going to be a member of the Bismarck Larks.

Born and raised in Canada, he had planned to play for the Thunder Bay Border Cats in 2021, but, due to COVID-19 and border restrictions, Thunder Bay was unable to play.  Thunder Bay’s roster was put on waivers and the rest of the Northwoods League had a draft to choose one player to join their squad in 2021. With the 4th overall pick, the Larks drafted Khalid and it was the perfect match.

Khalid exceeded expectations when he came to Bismarck after hitting .242 with 4 RBI as a freshman at Montevallo. In his first game, Khalid made his presence known with a diving catch in left field to end the game. Two nights later, he hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning to secure a victory over the Duluth Huskies.

In 40 games last season, Khalid finished top five on the team in batting average (.266), runs (26), and stolen bases (12). He also finished fourth in on-base percentage, just ahead of his college teammate Ben Teel. Khalid fractured his hand on a check swing while on the road with the Larks, an injury that ended his season early.

The work ethic Khalid showed to rehab his hand and improve his performance has shown in his second season of college baseball. In 22 games, Khalid had a batting average of .359 for the University of Montevallo, a whopping .117 improvement from his freshman season. He finished fourth on the team in batting average.

This past season included a first-ever for Khalid, too. On February 12 against Missouri St. Louis, Khalid hit his first career home run at the collegiate level. The accomplishment had him riding on cloud nine but it didn’t stop there. The next day, Khalid hit not just one, but two home runs against Missouri St. Louis.

Khalid puts in the work every day and focuses on the minor details to make sure his game is improving every time he steps onto the field. Khalid isn’t the only one that pays attention to the details. Bismarck Motor Company treats your car the same way, paying attention to every detail. You can get your car detailed now at the Bismarck Motor Company Detail Center on the Expressway in Bismarck. They’ll have your car looking as good as Khalid’s performance on the field.

This story appears in Edition 1 of the Larks Playball Program.