Two Newton County Academy baseball players fulfilled life-long goals last week as they signed to play baseball at the collegiate level.
Kemp Alderman honored his commitment and signed with Ole Miss while Hayden West signed to play at East Central Community College.
It was a good day for the Newton County Academy baseball program and one that head coach Kelly Alderman has been looking forward to for some time.
“I’m proud of both of them,” Alderman said. “I have got to coach both of them since they were little kids. Both of them work really hard to get where they are at. I just hope they continue to get better. They work really hard at what they do, that’s the biggest things. There are a lots of hours they put into it, a lot of hours in the cage. They work hard, that’s what I’m most proud of.”
Alderman signed with Ole Miss after having another stellar season. Alderman enters his senior year as one of the top players in his class for 2020.
“It’s a great feeling to finally sign with Ole Miss,” Kemp Alderman said. “I have worked really hard to get to this day. I committed really early and that’s the place I wanted to play so I went ahead and committed. The coaches have really supported me and helped me out here a lot to get where I’m at.”
Alderman was named to the MaxPreps Small Schools All-American Baseball team. Members of the small school’s team come from schools that generally have fewer than 1,000 students. Only 30 players were selected to the first team and only one other player from Mississippi was selected to the first team
Alderman, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound senior, hit .569 this past season with 36 runs scored, 41 RBIs, eight doubles and 12 home runs. Alderman was 8-3 on the mound with a 2.83 ERA with 90 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched.
Alderman was also named to the Clarion-Ledger All-State baseball team and was the MAIS Class AA Players of the year. Alderman was also named the Meridian Star’s Premier Preps of East Mississippi Player of the Year for the second straight year. He was also named to the Premier Preps of East Mississippi football team as well. Alderman was also named an MAIS all-star in football as well recently.
Alderman was joined in the ceremony by Hayden West, who stayed close to home and signed with East Central.
“There were a couple of schools that showed some interest but East Central showed the most and that’s where I have wanted to play since I was a kid,” West said. “They have nice facilities and take care of their players. It’s been a dream of mine to play college baseball and this makes it all worth it, all of those long practices.”
West hit .408 this past year in 25 games with the Generals after transferring from Newton County. West was second on the team with 37 RBIs and had eight double in 93 plate appearances. On the mound, West was 3-4 with a 3.92 ERA in 39.1 innings pitched with 55 strikeouts.
