By Mike London
Salisbury Post
SALISBURY — Catawba College relief pitcher Sam Alessi lit up a radar gun at 99.7 mph recently, making him officially the hardest thrower in the baseball program’s proud history.
Catawba baseball continues to recruit special players and special people who want to play at Newman Park, who want to play in the South Atlantic Conference, who want to compete for a D-II national championship and who want to play for head coach Jim Gantt, who has logged more than 1,000 wins.
On Tuesday night, Gantt got a call from senior shortstop Nathan Chrismon, who requested that the lights be turned on for a group of players eager to do some extra hitting in the cages.
“That level of determination and diligence doesn’t guarantee you’ll get a hit every time up,” Gantt said. “But it does just about guarantee you’ll be a success in life no matter what field you go into.”
The 2026 season is on the horizon now, and every Catawba baseball season is kicked off by a First Pitch Fundraiser. This year’s event is scheduled for Goodman Arena on Saturday, Jan. 17. Tickets are $100. The schedule is 5:30: social hour; 6:30: dinner and 7:15: panel discussion.
“The annual First Pitch event is the fundraising lifeline for our program,” said Gantt, who is ready to begin his 30th season as Catawba’s head coach. “It’s really helped us as a recruiting tool. The funds raised allow us to start our seasons with a trip to Florida. Those funds have allowed us to upgrade our travel, our accommodations and our meals on the road. It’s helped pay for some uniforms, and it’s helped us buy things like pitching machines, batting cages and the technical equipment that benefits all our players.”
First Pitch panelists will include former Seattle Mariners standout Kyle Seager, Northwest Cabarrus High School baseball coach Joe Hubbard and former Catawba baseball players Jeremy Simpson, Cole Hales and Scott “Boston” Searles. The panel discussion will be moderated by Doug Rice, former president and lead announcer for Performance Racing Network.
Seager, who starred in college for UNC, was a fixture at third base for the Mariners for 10 seasons and socked 242 MLB homers. He and his wife are raising their family in Rowan County. Hubbard coached Seager in high school and has had a tremendous career as a high school and American Legion coach. His son, Ty, is the starting second baseman for Catawba.
Baseball is a Catawba sport tied closely to the Rowan community, as the Indians always have quite a few prominent players who starred for the Rowan high schools. Dylan Driver, Payne Stolsworth and Hayden Simmerson are gone now, but Chrismon and Hubbard, the double-play combination for South Rowan’s 2022 state champs, are still in that same role as Catawba seniors. East Rowan grad Logan Dyer is expected to open the season as the starting third baseman for the Indians. Gantt loves his competitive fire.
Matthew Connolly (West Rowan) and Cameron Burleyson (Carson) are experienced catchers. Casey Gouge (West Rowan) and Joe Burleyson (East Rowan) are slated to be key members of the Catawba bullpen, working in multiple-inning roles. Freshman Marshal Faw (South Rowan) is an exciting newcomer to the team.
Simpson (West Rowan), who coordinates recruiting for Catawba, and Hales (Carson), a hard-hitting third baseman in 2025 who is now Catawba’s rookie pitching coach, are also products of the local high schools.
Catawba has had to restructure most of the pitching staff, but Gantt has faith in three newcomers to take on starting roles. Colt Wilkins and Kemper Nix transferred to Catawba after Limestone shut down. Zachary Gaydos transferred from UNC Asheville.
Needless to say, Alessi, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound right-hander, will get the first crack at taking over the closer role vacated by Simmerson. If he throws strikes, he’ll rack up saves.
“We know we were lucky to have Simmerson for two years, and he was outstanding,” Gantt said. “He was a great teammate, a great person to coach. He’s moved up to bigger and better things at Clemson, and we wish him all the success in the world.”
The Indians will miss Driver in right field — he’ll officially be presented with his second national Gold Glove award at the First Pitch Dinner — but the Indians still have experienced bats such as Sam Hunter, Hunter Atkins, Parker Styborski, Sean Shelly and Jake Dunlap, and Gantt believes Malachi Cloud, who is expected to play center field, is one of the fastest people ever to wear a Catawba uniform. Cloud transferred from Lee College in Texas.
“He’s one of those people that you can’t stop from stealing second even when everyone knows he’s going to steal,” Gantt said. “You can’t steal first, but if he can get on base at a high rate, he can be be a special player. He’s got some swing-and-miss in his game, but he’s also got some power.”
One more new name to know is Brandon Crabtree, a power hitter who was originally recruited by NC State, but ended up at Gaston College. He’ll likely be the starter at first base for the Indians.
Catawba will play its first four games on a swing through Florida, beginning Jan, 30.
“If we lose, at least we’ll be losing with palm trees in the background,” Gantt said cheerfully.
Catawba takes on Shippensburg in the home opener on Friday, Feb. 6. Tusculum visits for the first SAC game on Feb. 13.
Once again, the First Pitcher Dinner will get the whole thing started.
Purchase Your Tickets for the 2026 Catawba Baseball First Pitch Dinner!
The event flyer is also attached.
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