Calhoun County, AL Calhoun County, Alabama 9 Alexandria athletes which includes 6 baseballers, pledge to play for the college team in a large-scale ceremony held at Larry R. Ginn Gymnasium.
By Joe Medley
The Alexandria Class of ’24 has yet to achieve its full potential in sports, however it did make a few marks on the paper Wednesday.
Six baseball players led nine Valley Cubs over four sports were signed to play for nine colleges at Larry R. Ginn Gymnasium.
The team of baseball players comprised of First baseman Samuel Henagar (Wallace State Community College) and the catcher Aiden Brunner (Charleston), third baseman Evan Snow (Gadsden State) pitcher Tripp Patterson (North Alabama) as well as pitching Andrew Allen (Arkansas State) and outfielder Ian Cartwright (Montevallo).
Softballers Christian Hess (Northeast Alabama Community College) and Jill Cockrell (Alabama-Huntsville) signed along with golfer Marlee Hedgepeth (Snead State Community College)
Volleyball athletes Kailey Dickerson as well as Devan White, who both signed on with Wallace State earlier this week and will be signing at an upcoming date.
“Alexandria High School has been a blessing,” Alexandria principal Jason Deason declared. “These students are experiencing two commitments. The first was Alexandria High School. The young people accepted our society and did it in the correct way. They’ve been blessed to be coached by coaches who are invested in their athletic skills as well as in their personal lives.
“As director, I couldn’t better be prouder of the entire school community. The students have had an impact far beyond the walls of our school.”
The team’s baseball players stood out by introducing a signee class that surpass Oxford’s last one from a year ago. Oxford was home to five signings from an incoming class of nine seniors who led to lead the Yellow Jackets to a Class 6A state championship.
Class 5A Alexandria is a class that received a roster boost after Nic Thompson was transferred from Donoho and has signed six players from a class that includes 15 seniors.
“We’ve had a couple others that I’m hoping to get taken care of in the spring as well,” second-year Alexandria baseball coach Zac Welch told reporters. “They’re waiting around and have a few opportunities that are on the table.
“I’m not certain if we’ve seen this many signs at the same time and I’m also not certain we’ve ever had an entire class of this size.”
The Alexandria seniors dedicated their entire offseason to baseball.
“Everybody who is part of this crew is working very at it,” Allen said. “Everybody’s worked hard to earn everything they have before them.
“We’re looking towards a fantastic year. It’s going to be lots of enjoyment.”
The ceremony of the day was a table-top display of courts from the baseline to the baseline. Balloon clusters displaying the colors of the signees’ college selection were tacked to each station. The crowd of friends and family were a common sight in the Gymnasium.
Personal stories came out of every table. Hess dad, Alexandria baseball coach Brian Hess spoke on behalf of his team, and shared the experience of his child to become the coaches kid. Toni Hess, Brian’s wife is a coach assistant.
Brian Hess said Christian “doesn’t have an opportunity to take a breather. The majority of times, you’ll have one parent who’s difficult and the other present with the smiles and assurances that everything will be fine.'”
Christian Hess, also a All-Calhoun first-team County volleyball player was rewarded with a lot of joy and was able to share a grand celebration with his classmates.
“It’s absurd,” she said. “And to imagine that this is just one small percentage of people who are involved. We have more who are expected to commit this spring.”
