Mason Fuller will be the next member of his family to play college baseball in Andalusia.
Fuller, a rising senior and starting shortstop for the Wetumpka baseball team, recently committed to play at Lurleen B. Wallace Community College.
He is the third member of his family who will play baseball at LBW, joining his older brother and his father.
“It means a lot to me to be able to go play there,” Fuller said. “I just think it’s the best decision for me. Now I get to just play ball. It’s cool to play there just like my family has. It’s going to be a really cool experience and the same coach (Steve Helms) is there and will have coached all of us.”
Helms got in touch with Fuller around the beginning of his junior season this spring. The two parties remained in constant contact and Fuller felt like it was time to commit when the season ended. It helped that he loved the campus and what the college offers.
“I really like their campus,” Fuller said. “There’s a golf course on campus and they’re getting a brand new facility with a nice field and a jumbotron. I just like all of the scenery.”
Fuller put together a solid season for the Indians this spring.
Starting at shortstop and hitting at the top of the lineup, he helped Wetumpka reach the third round of the Class 6A playoffs for the first time in 32 years.
He hit .331 on the year with a .451 on base percentage. He recorded 42 hits, second best on the team, with eight doubles and two triples. He drove in 21 RBIs and scored a team-best 42 runs. He struck out only 16 times, one of the lowest totals on the roster.
On base, he was 15-for-18 on stolen base attempts.
He will bring that consistent force at the plate to the college level, and he believes he can be a consistent fielder in the middle infield as well. Last year, he fielded .836 at shortstop.
“The plan is for me to play middle infield and hit in the one- or two-hole,” Fuller said. “I really think I can help them with my fielding and my hitting. I have a good feel for the game and I feel like I can help them.”
In the meantime, Fuller wants to improve on his fielding and become a better teammate. He isn’t playing baseball in the summer between junior and senior year, but he has been hitting the weight room hard and hitting in the cage.
When the time comes to move to LBW and start his college career, he will have the chance to play with his brother Dawson. Fuller, a 2022 graduate of Wetumpka, still has two years of eligibility left after redshirting and transferring from Southern Union.
The two haven’t talked much about the opportunity to play together, but Mason won’t turn it down if the opportunity presents itself.
“That’s not currently the plan, but it would definitely be cool,” Fuller said.
