Calhoun County, AL – Nine Alexandria athletes, including six baseball players, sign to play college ball in mass ceremony in Larry R. Ginn Gymnasium.
By Joe Medley
Alexandria’s Class of ‘24 has yet to make its full mark in sports, but it made lots of marks on paper Wednesday.
Led by six baseball players, nine Valley Cubs over four sports signed to play for nine colleges in Larry R. Ginn Gymnasium.
The baseball contingent included first baseman Samuel Henagar (Wallace State Community College), catcher Aiden Brunner (Charleston), third baseman Evan Snow (Gadsden State) pitcher Tripp Patterson (North Alabama), pitcher Andrew Allen (Arkansas State) and outfielder Ian Cartwright (Montevallo).
Softball players Christian Hess (Northeast Alabama Community College) and Jill Cockrell (Alabama-Huntsville) signed, as did and golfer Marlee Hedgepeth (Snead State Community College)
Volleyball players Kailey Dickerson and Devan White, both having committed to Wallace State earlier this week, will sign at a later date.
“Alexandria High School is blessed,” Alexandria principal Jason Deason said. “These student athletes are experiencing their second commitment. Their first was to Alexandria High School. These young men and women bought in to our culture and have done it the right way. They’ve had the privilege to be led by coaches invested in their athletic abilities, but also in their lives.
“As principal, I couldn’t be more proud of our entire school community. These young men and women have made an impact way beyond the school walls.”
The baseball team took center stage with a signee class to rival Oxford’s a year ago. Oxford had five signees out of a class of nine seniors that went on to leads the Yellow Jackets to a Class 6A state title.
Class 5A Alexandria, which got a roster boost when Nic Thompson transferred from Donoho, has six signees in a class of 15 seniors.
“We’ve got a couple of more that that I hope can get picked up in the spring, too,” second-year Alexandria baseball coach Zac Welch said. “They’re still hanging around and have some offers on the table.
“I’m not sure that we’ve had this many sign all at once, but also I’m not sure we’ve had a class this big.”
A dozen of Alexandria’s seniors devoted their entire offseasons to baseball.
“Everybody on this team works really hard,” Allen said. “Everybody’s earned everything they have in front of them.
“We’re looking forward to a great year. It should be a lot of fun.”
The day’s ceremony saw tables cover the basketball court from baseline to baseline. Balloon clusters sporting the colors of each signees college choice were tied to each station, and the gathering of family and friends filled one side of the Gymnasium.
Personal stories arose from each table. Hess’ father, Alexandria baseball coach Brian Hess, spoke for his team and what it’s been like for his daughter to be the coach’s child. Toni Hess, Brian’s wife, is an assistant coach.
Brian Hess said Christian “doesn’t get a break. Usually, you have one parent that’s tough and the other one is there with the hugs and ‘everything’s going to be all right.’”
Christian Hess, also a first-team All-Calhoun County player in volleyball, found plenty of reward and sharing such a grand ceremony with so many classmates.
“It’s unreal,” she said. “And to think that this is only a small portion of the people that are committing. We still have a lot more that are coming in the spring.”
