Former Bevill State Player and 2008 Tennessee Tech "Man-of-The-Year" Kicks off 2010 Baseball Season
Bevill St. Fayette
2/17/2010

The Bevill State baseball team kicked off the 2010 season with an inter-squad scrimmage on Saturday, February 6, followed with a banquet for the team members and their families. Guest speaker for the evening was former Bear and Tennessee Tech "2008 Athlete of the Year" Thomas Nelson, who was recently accepted into the University of South Alabama School of Medicine.

Nelson attended Bevill State from 2004-2006 and graduated with an Associate in Science degree before transferring to Tennessee Tech, where he received a baseball scholarship from former Bevill State head coach, Matt Bragga. After an outstanding baseball career with Tennessee Tech, Nelson graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Biology while maintaining a 4.0 GPA during his entire college career.

Nelson described his time at Bevill State and stressed the importance of living each moment to its fullest both on and off the field, emphasizing to the team that their playing careers will soon be over. He reminisced about his days at Bevill State and how Fayette, Alabama was a special place for him. He talked about dedication and hard work and how the competition that these players face will help them in the competitive world later in life.

At the conclusion of the evening, Head Coach Joey May presented certificates to the players who had excelled in the classroom over the Fall semester, honoring those who had obtained a 3.0 or higher grade point average for the semester. Those receiving awards were for the 3.0 category were: Drake Warr, Andrew Hillis, Nathan Hillis, Dustin Edwards, Michael Cooper, Jared Rogers, Nathan Fernekes, Cody Garrison, Matt Frederick. Baseball team members who obtained a 3.5 GPA or better were: Eric Deese, Hunter Collins, Michael Lavendar, Russ Cole, Zach Doherty, Hunter Smothers, and Jarrod Litton. Litton received the honor of the highest GPA for the team.

"It is always great to see a good crowd of parents and supporters to come to functions other than the games themselves," said Russell Howton, athletic director. "Thomas Nelson is an all-a-round class act and from just listening to his remarks, you can see why he will be successful in life."