Sports
Elmore County athletes shine in Underclassmen Showcase
By Griffin Pritchard
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Elmore County was well represented in Troy this weekend as nine high school baseball players had their moments in the sunshine on the turf of Riddle-Pace Field.
“It was fun playing on the turf. It was better than playing on dirt,” said Daniel Arant of Holtville. “Whenever you slid, there was black stuff everywhere.”
Arant joined Cody Lee of Edgewood to compete on the Kelly Green team, while Bradley Roney of Wetumpka stood alone on the Gold team. Adam Davenport of Elmore County, T. J. Oates of Holtville and Chris Tice of Edgewood competed for the Cardinal team. Reggie Golden and Nathan Knight of Wetumpka joined Hunter Kilcrease of Edgewood Academy as part of the Columbia Blue team.
“There are 160 players from around the state participating this weekend,” said Barry Dean, president of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association and baseball coach at Lawson State Community College. “The event doesn’t focus only on baseball. The kids and their parents are invited to attend academic seminars. After the banquet Thursday night, we have coaches from NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA and Troy’s Compliance officer speak to the parents and players about what they can expect on each level of play and how to navigate the NCAA Clearinghouse.”
The underclassmen showcase, in its ninth year, began with players trying out at four locations. Now, more than 700 rising sophomores, juniors and seniors tried out at eight different college campuses across the state.
“I tried out at Central Alabama (Community College),” said Lee. “It was tough.”
Arant and Oates both tried out at Faulkner University.
According to dean, the tryouts run simultaneously at junior college and college campuses throughout the state. Once the workouts have concluded, the coaches will get together and field eight 20-man teams.
“It was good experience playing against some of the best in the state,” said Arant.
Lee agreed. “A good majority of the kids that play in this showcase, do go on to play collegiate baseball on some level.”
“The competition is tough, but if we are going to play college ball, we are going to be playing against the same people,” said Lee.
“It’s good to see them and see what we are going against.”
The eight teams “ four teams with players from the northern part of the state and four teams with players from the southern part of the state “ were coached by junior college baseball coaches.
“We learned to never show emotion on the field,” said Arant.
“And to always hustle,” said Oates.
While the game was a learning experience for some of the players, it also lived up to the billing as a showcase.
In the first game of the three-game weekend, Oates roped an inside-the-park home run. Arant took the hill in the second game and recorded four strikeouts. Lee recorded 10 stolen bases over two days of games.
“That turf was fast, you had to start sliding way earlier or you’d slide past the bag,” said Lee.
Golden garnered attention with his arm Friday by throwing a base runner out at home from right field.
“Everyone that participates gets a recruiting pack,” said Dean. “And we give a scholarship to a rising senior. This is a good opportunity for the different kids to meet each other and get to know them.”
While not on the field, teams were spending time in the batting cages adjoining Riddle-Pace Field.
“Each batter and pitcher got a taped breakdown of their swing and their at-bats,” said Dean.
Former Major Leaguers Lou Thornton and Mark Fuller broke down each tape for the pitchers and batters and showed them what they were doing right and what they needed to improve on.
What has now become a success, began out of frustration.
“A few of the coaches in the Association were disgruntled with the way things were going,” said Dean. “I went to Tennessee and watched how they did their underclassmen showcase. I copied theirs and brought it down here.”
The initial event was held on the campus of Birmingham Southern but then moved to Troy University.
“Troy is so good at hosting things on their campus,” said Dean. “They host Boy’s State, Girl’s State and so many different things. Everything they do is first class and that’s what we want these kids to have, a first class experience.”
