2022 College baseball review: All-American pitcher from West Lincoln leads large group of local products

By Richard Walker

Two former local baseball players got top honors this season after helping Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute to a third-place national finish in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III World Series earlier this month.

Seth Willis, a 2019 West Lincoln High graduate, was named second team All-American and first team All-Region 10 pitcher after a season in which he went 13-2 with one save and a 2.44 ERA in 18 appearances (16 starts) for the Cobras, who ranked No. 1 in the final NJCAA regular season poll.

Also for the Cobras (49-9, 20-0 Region 10), Tyler Bradley (North Gaston 2018) was a second team All-Region 10 outfielder after hitting .361 with two home runs and 49 RBIs in 50 games and Stanley’s Darien Farley hit .200 with three RBIs in 13 games and Derek Farley hit .250 with one RBI in four games.

The Caldwell Tech standouts were among many former local standouts who recently completed college baseball seasons. Here are the others:

Anderson: Nathan Ledford (Gaston Christian 2019) went 1-2 with one save and a 8.90 ERA in 19 appearances (four starts) for the Trojans (23-23, 8-16 South Atlantic Conference).

Appalachian State: Dalton Williams (North Gaston 2018) hit .246 with six RBIs in 34 games (13 starts), Seth Whitley (North Lincoln 2021) went 0-0 with a 4.50 ERA in nine appearances and Austin Primm (North Gaston 2018) went 0-0 with a 4.43 ERA in 14 appearances (one start) for the Mountaineers (20-33, 10-20 Sun Belt).

Averett: Jason Maggs (Cramer 2018) hit .182 with two RBIs in 21 games (five starts) and earned All-USA South Conference Sportsmanship honors for the Cougars (14-26, 7-16).

Belmont Abbey: Jackson Risk (South Point 2021) hit .269 with one home run and seven RBIs in 10 games (six starts) for the Crusaders (34-19, 21-8 Conference Carolinas).

Berea: A.J. Wylie (Kings Mountain 2021) hit .194 with four RBIs in 31 games (28 starts) for the Mountaineers (5-33, 1-17 USA South).

Brevard: Cameron Cook (Cramer 2020) went 4-2 with a 5.18 ERA in 12 appearances (six starts), Adam Rushing (East Gaston 2020) hit .333 with one RBI in six games and Jonathan Groves (Cramer 2021) hit .222 with one RBI in 13 games for the Tornados (21-16, 8-9 USA South).

Campbell: Lawson Harrill (Crest 2019) hit .259 with five home runs and 25 RBIs in 57 games (52 starts) and Tyler McPeak (North Lincoln 2018) hit .200 with three RBIs in 13 games (three starts) for the Camels (41-19, 20-3), who were Big South Conference champions.

Carson-Newman: Jackson Harbin (Forestview 2019) went 0-0 with one save and a 7.84 ERA in six appearances, Spencer Bright (Lincoln Charter 2019) hit .185 with four RBIs in 23 games and Dylan Dodson (Lincoln Charter 2019) hit 1.000 in one game for the Eagles (28-24, 12-11 South Atlantic Conference).

Catawba: Jackson Finger (North Gaston 2020) hit .200 with three RBIs in 17 games and Robbie Cowie (Lincolnton 2018) went 3-2 with a 2.43 ERA in 25 appearances for the Indians (31-24, 16-8) – and Cowie was named second team All-South Atlantic Conference relief pitcher.

Catawba Valley Community College: Preston Conner (South Point 2019) hit .216 with one home run and 18 RBIs in 29 games and Zach Summerville (North Gaston 2019) hit .353 with 10 home runs and 57 RBIs in 57 games for the Red Hawks (37-26, 24-12) – and Summerville was first team All-Region 10 and CVCC won the Region 10 championship.

Chattanooga State Community College: Jared Emory (Cherryville 2019) hit .395 with 13 home runs and 80 RBIs in 58 games for the Tigers (44-14, 20-6 Region 7).

Cleveland Community College: Boone Cartee (Kings Mountain 2021) went 0-0 with three saves and a 6.33 ERA in 20 appearances (one start) and Patrick Spangler (Burns 2020) went 0-0 with a 5.40 ERA in 18 appearances for the Yetis (31-23, 19-14 Region 10).

Coker: Cody Chapman (Gaston Christian 2021) went 2-1 with a 2.38 ERA in seven appearances for the Cobras (13-35, 8-16 South Atlantic Conference).

College Charleston: Gastonia’s Preston Hall hit .232 with six home runs and 20 RBIs in 37 games (33 starts) for the Cougars (37-19, 19-5), who won the Colonial Athletic Association regular season title.

East Carolina: C.J. Mayhue (Crest 2019) went 6-1 with one save and a 3.36 ERA in 31 appearances (12 starts) and Lane Hoover (Lincolnton 2018) hit .341 with 33 RBIs in 67 games (66 starts) for the Pirates (46-21, 20-4), who won the American Athletic Conference and Hoover was a first team All-AAC selection.

Gaston College: Xavier Swann (Huss 2018) hit .111 in eight games and Logan Russell (East Gaston 2019) .222 with four RBIs in 10 games for the Rhinos (41-9, 30-6), who were Region 10 regular season champions.

George Washington: Matthew McCowan (East Lincoln 2021) hit .273 with one RBI in 11 games (three starts) for the Colonials (22-30, 10-14 Atlantic 10).

Guilford: Allden Horne (East Lincoln 2019) hit .184 with five RBIs in 18 games (10 starts), Adam Anderson (North Gaston 2019) .286 with 11 RBIs in 27 games (24 starts) and went 2-1 with an 8.27 ERA in nine appearances (four starts) and Stanley’s Casey Hagaman went 0-0 with a 4.00 ERA in six appearances for the Quakers (11-22, 5-15 Old Dominion Athletic Conference).

King: Derek Martin (East Lincoln 2020) hit .118 with one RBI in 10 games (three starts) for the Tornado (24-22, 16-13 Conference Carolinas).

Lenoir-Rhyne: David Bell (Kings Mountain 2019) hit .318 with nine home runs and 50 RBIs in 58 games (56 starts), Joey Cobb (North Lincoln 2019) went 4-2 with a 1.69 ERA in 16 appearances (seven starts) and Cherryville’s Brett Eurey hit .222 with one home run and nine RBIs in 33 games (10 starts) for the Bears (46-13, 17-7), who were South Atlantic Conference and NCAA Division II regional runner-ups and Bell was a third-team All-SAC outfielder.

Limestone: Garrett Sutton (Forestview 2016) went 1-6 with a 7.84 ERA in 14 appearances (five starts) for the Saints (4-41, 1-23 South Atlantic Conference).

Longwood: Noah Eaker (Cherryville 2017) went 0-1 with a 6.51 ERA in 18 appearances for the Lancers (20-33, 10-14 Big South Conference).

Mars Hill: Jordan Lathe (South Point 2018) hit .299 with four home runs and 30 RBIs in 48 games and Scottie Lee (South Point 2018) .250 with four home runs and 25 RBIs in 43 games for the Lions (18-30, 9-14 South Atlantic Conference).

Methodist: Wesley Hall (Cramer 2018) hit .346 with three home runs and 41 RBIs in 38 games (37 starts) for the Monarchs (26-16, 16-5) to earn second team East Division All-USA South second baseman honors.

Mount Olive: Matt Stokes (Lincoln Charter 2017) hit .281 with six RBIs in 16 games (six starts) and Dawson Gause (South Point 2018) went 2-3 with a 6.92 ERA in nine starts for the Trojans (24-20, 18-12 Conference Carolinas).

North Carolina: Dalton Pence (Cherryville 2021) redshirted for the Tar Heels (42-22, 15-15), who won the ACC championship.

North Greenville: Noah Ingle (Cherryville 2020) went 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in 10 appearances (two starts) for the Crusaders (54-10, 25-5), who won the Conference Carolinas title and NCAA Division II national championship.

Pfeiffer: Alec Bell (Kings Mountain 2018) hit .315 with three home runs and 32 RBIs in 37 games (36 starts), Jacob Landis (South Point 2019) went 0-4 with an 11.01 ERA in 12 appearances (six starts), Dakota Caughey (Forestview 2018) went 6-2 with two saves and a 3.05 ERA in 16 appearances (four starts) and Carter Merrill (Cramer 2020) hit .310 with six RBIs in 13 games (11 starts) for the Falcons (18-20, 13-8 USA South).

Queens: Riley Cheek (Crest 2018) hit .333 with 11 home runs and 39 RBIs in 50 games, Nick Melton (Crest 2018) .309 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 47 games and Daniel Bagwell (Kings Mountain 2018) went 4-3 with two saves and a 4.20 ERA in 19 appearances (two starts) for the Royals (29-22, 17-7 South Atlantic Conference).

Rockingham Community College: Gabe Duncan (East Lincoln 2019) hit .275 with one home run and 11 RBIs in 31 games and Sam Bolling (East Lincoln 2019) went 1-1 with a 14.54 ERA in five appearances for the Eagles (15-24, 7-13 Region 10).

Surry Community College: Kyle Brittain (North Lincoln 2021) hit .187 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 32 games, Cade Doolittle (East Lincoln 2021) .152 with two RBIs in 15 games and Drew Ashley (Crest 2019) went 0-0 with a 30.00 ERA in five appearances for the Knights (15-29-1, 8-14 Region 10).

Tusculum: Cherryville’s Wes Reynolds hit .301 with five home runs and 23 RBIs in 32 games for the Pioneers (17-30, 5-19 South Atlantic Conference).

UNC-Asheville: Fermin Osio (North Gaston 2019) hit .171 with one RBI in 13 games (11 starts) and Bryce Fisher (Kings Mountain 2020) went 0-5 with a 13.79 ERA in 11 appearances (four starts) for the Bulldogs (21-29-1, 14-9-1 Big South).

UNC-Greensboro: Dosi Jonas (East Gaston 2018) hit .167 with two home runs and four RBIs in 17 games (five starts) for the Spartans (34-30, 12-9 Southern).

U.S. Merchant Marines: Jack Millen (Crest 2020) hit .317 with one home run and 28 RBI in 43 starts and Billy Todd (Forestview 2018) went 6-1 with a 6.30 ERA in 16 appearances (two starts) for the Mariners (26-19, 13-7) – and Millen earned second team All-Skyline Conference second base honors.

Walters State: Ty Cobb (East Lincoln 2020) went 0-0 with two saves and a 6.14 ERA in 10 appearances for the Senators (60-7, 23-3 Region 7), who finished third place in the NJCAA Division I World Series.

Wingate: Brent Walls (Cherryville 2020) went 0-0 with a 5.50 ERA in eight appearances (four starts), Austin Mitchell (North Gaston 2018) went 10-1 with a 4.62 ERA in 13 starts and Logan McNeely (Crest 2017) hit .358 with five home runs and 44 RBIs in 45 games (41 starts) for the Bulldogs (48-10, 24-2), who were South Atlantic Conference regular season champion. Also, McNeely was namde first team All-SAC catcher and Mitchell was second team All-SAC starting pitcher.