Drummond signs with Berry College

Calhoun Baseball’s Brady Drummond inks in-state scholarship

MBaron@CalhounTimes.com

Brady Drummond has officially signed to the next level. The Calhoun High School right-handed pitcher inked a baseball scholarship with Berry College at a signing ceremony at his house, joined by family members, coaches and teammates.

“It was awesome for all my family and friends and teammates and coaches to all be at one place because I hadn’t seen everybody in awhile,” Drummond said in a phone interview. “It was the first time you could get to see a lot of people at once, and everybody coming to support me, it really meant a lot.”

Calhoun Baseball head coach Chip Henderson, who attended the signing ceremony, said it was a joyous day for Drummond, adding that people were just starting to move about more with stay-at-home orders being lifted.

“To be able to sign his letter of intent to go to the next level and play ... baseball and be able to share that with his teammates, it was just a joyous occasion for everyone involved,” Henderson said in a phone interview.

While Berry College is, essentially, right in Drummond’s backyard, Drummond said he initially did not want to attend college such close proximity to home.

“I wanted to be a few hours away,” Drummond said. “Once Berry started looking at me, I went and I visited, I really just felt like it’s a whole place by itself that I’m not familiar with.”

Drummond gradually warmed to the idea of being a Berry Viking. He said he liked the Berry’s community feel, along with the baseball program and academic setting.

“I started thinking, ‘If this school was an hour or two away, would I go to it?’ and I’m like, ‘Yes,’” Drummond said. “They have everything that I want, they offer everything that I need, so I’m not going to let it being that close to home affect me from not wanting to go there.”

Henderson said the Berry Vikings are getting a hard-working right hander with a “world of potential.”

“He was really coming into his own this year,” Henderson said. “He’s got the qualities they want in a pitcher. He’s tall, he’s lanky. He’s got a really good curveball. He’s just a complete package.”

Henderson recalls Calhoun’s opening weekend at Tift County, when the Yellow

Jackets had a three-run lead and three outs to go. Henderson turned the ball over to Drummond in the seventh.

“We threw him in a tough situation against Tift County,” Henderson said. “In six pitches, he sealed the deal. Each time he took the mound, he just kept continuing to get better and being more effective.”

Henderson said Drummond’s growth has been demonstrated by his increased confidence on the mound.

“Coming in in that (Tift County) situation in a playoff-type atmosphere, I think ... that gave him a lot of confidence,” Henderson said. “The season was cut way too short and he was going to be one of our major arms we counted on ... especially in big games and get a lot of action.”

Henderson said Drummond’s best attribute is being a good teammate.

“That’s the ultimate compliment if you ask me,” Henderson said. “I’ve never seen any negativity, never witnessed any sourness. That’s something to be said in today’s time is how he treated his teammates and how respected he was by his teammates.”

When reminiscing about high school, Drummond said he would fondly remem

BASEBALL,

Oklahoma’s softball program has been led by 26-year head coach Patty Gasso. Gasso boasts 1,280 wins with the Sooners. OU has reached the WCWS 13 times during Gasso’s tenure.

Competing in the Big 12 Conference, Oklahoma has not lost a conference game since 2017.

In late March, the NCAA’s Division I Council voted in favor of giving member schools the opportunity to grant their spring-sport athletes an extra year of eligibility.

It is very possible Johns could play two full seasons at OU, starting in 2021.

South Carolina’s Jana Johns takes a swing during a game in 2018. (South Carolina Athletics)