Page 909 – Diamond Prospects

Bio: Austin Alexander

-Austin Alexander- Austin Alexander has been back in the Palmetto State since 2006 after spending three years at Elon University as the pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. Before joining the Phoenix, Alexander served as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Spartanburg Methodist College for three seasons. Prior to that stint, he spent one year apiece at Charleston Southern University and James Island High School in Charleston, SC. Alexander also spent eight summers as a coach with the South Carolina Diamond Devils, an elite AAU team based out of Charleston, SC. Alexander re-joined the Diamond Devils baseball program as a coach during the summer and fall of 2006-2007. He returned to coach the 18U team in 2008. All totaled, Alexander has coached and/or signed 63 pitchers and 54 position players that have been selected in the MLB draft, including eight in the 1st Round. He presently has 10 players still playing some form of professional baseball and twelve have reached the Major Leagues. MLB Players Alexander’s recruiting placed two teams in the NJCAA World Series (2001, 2003) while at Spartanburg Methodist and had two nationally recognized recruiting classes at Elon by Collegiate Baseball. His Phoenix also won the 2006 Southern Conference regular season championship and received an at-large bid into an NCAA Regional. Alexander began as an associate scout with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2005-2020 under the late Hall of Famer Lon Joyce. He is presently an associate scout with the Atlanta Braves and area supervisor Billy Best. Presiding over Diamond Prospects for the 16th year, Alexander is proud to include that the DP resume now boasts of having all but one out of 69 high school draftees from the Classes of 2007-2021 as alumni of previous events. Overall, 193 event alumni have been drafted, 22 Big Leaguers… To view alumni, click here. Starting in 2010, Alexander became a nationally accredited voter for ESPN’s Gatorade Athlete of the Year which is celebrated at the ESPY’s, this honor came after three seasons of selecting our state’s baseball winner. Alexander graduated from the College of Charleston in 1997 receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications-Mass Media and a minor in Psychology. He also earned an Associate of Arts degree from Spartanburg Methodist in 1995. While at C of C, Alexander also served two years as the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Board, reporting directly to the president and athletic director of The College. Alexander played baseball at Spartanburg Methodist College and the College of Charleston where he set each school’s single-season and career win records as a right-handed pitcher. While each feat has fallen by the wayside recently, he still holds the CofC mark for most innings thrown in one game (10). He also continues to lay claim as being a two-time All-Star and throwing a record 87.1 innings as a member of the Cohocton Red Wings in the New York Collegiate League, still an NCAA summer record. A little known fact about Alexander, he had a cameo appearance in “Major League 3: Back to the Minors”. The movie was filmed in Charleston, SC where he lived at the time. Alexander had three scenes in the movie as an opposing pitcher for the Riverdogs. Alexander, 48, is an avid baseball fan, historian of the game, collector of the National Pastime plus a huge follower of the Chicago Cubs and Green Bay Packers. But his favorite thing to do is spending time with his family doing whatever they choose. On July 14, 2001, the Spartanburg, SC native married the former Rita Richardson of Conway, SC. The couple are parents of two sons, Nolan who was born on November 2, 2005 and the most recent addition arrived on December 28, 2009, Banks. The Alexander’s reside in Myrtle Beach.

The DP Team

Austin Alexander -One of the guys at dp- Austin Alexander’s Bio Email: [email protected] ________________________________ Barry Mabry -Upstate Scout & Fall League Commissioner- Barry Mabry’s Bio Email: [email protected] _____________________________ Cory Welch -dp High School Baseball Director of Stuff- Cory Welch’s Bio Email: [email protected] ____________________________________ Derick Urquhart -Pee Dee Scout- Derick Urquhart’s Bio Email: [email protected] _____________________________________ Gary Randall -Greater Rock Hill Fall League Commissioner/Rock Hill Scout- Gary Randall’s Bio ________________________________________ John Helsabeck -Grand Strand Fall League Commissioner/dp Graphic Artist – John Hesabeck’s Bio Email: [email protected] _____________________________________ Stuart Lake -Midlands Fall League Commissioner/Midlands Scout, Recruiting 101- Email: [email protected] ________________________________ Tony Osterman -dp MVP- Email: [email protected] ___________________________ Gary Asbill -Aiken/Midlands Scout- Gary Asbill’s Bio Email: [email protected] _________________________________ Taylor Hollified -Upstate Scout- Taylor Hollifield’s Bio Email: [email protected] ___________________________________ Ben Waddle -dp Field General- Ben Waddle’s Bio Email: [email protected] ________________________________ Dale Nelson -The Fungoman & Dugout General/Upstate Scout- Email: [email protected] ____________________________ Austin Smithwick -DP Consultant- Austin Smithwick’s Bio __________________________________ John Gilreath -Area Scout, Social Media Director- John Gilreath’s Bio Email: [email protected] @jgilreath9 __________________________________ Mikey Pruitt -The dp Website Guru- Email: [email protected] ____________________________ Jason Kullman -Chief Editor- Jason Kullman’s Bio Email: [email protected] __________________________________ Contributing Winners: Jake Andrews Charles Assey David Beckley Fox Beyer Lou Bezjak Mark Bonnette Randy Carlson Will Cheatham Banks Faulkner Robert Hendrix Tome’ Higgins Brian Hucks Brandon Hyman Matthew Jolly Jeff Kerr Dwayne Kitts Mike McDonald Chris Nall Brian Simpson Billy Sylvester Trey Thacker Tyler Vick Chris Wells John Whittle ………………………… Diamond Prospects . 124 Artisan Ct . Lexington, SC 29072 .

About DP

-About Us- Diamond Prospects landed in South Carolina in January of 2006 and has covered high school baseball across the state like never before. Growing up in the Palmetto State we recall how difficult it is to attract attention from the next level. With a number of years in the college coaching ranks, our travel and experiences have exposed us to better ways of setting the stage for next-level players. In addition to becoming South Carolina’s #1 scouting service, we have also rolled out tons of information for our readers! While our bread and butter will remain the coverage of high school baseball and its top prospects, we also aim to better-inform players, parents and coaches in every aspect of the game. Here’s a quick rundown of our resume: Within our first five years of existence, the website has received over 100 million hits… Every single South Carolina high school player, except for one, selected in the 2007-2023 Major League Baseball Draft had attended a DP event… 26 DP Alumni have played in Major League Baseball…206 DP alums have been drafted by an MLB team… One hundred percent of the colleges in our state have a DP account and most check the site daily… Over 100 different colleges and pro clubs have attended a DP Showcase… More! Event Alumni As you can see, Diamond Prospects continues to grow and has changed the landscape of scouting in South Carolina while benefitting scores of young players, coaches and scouts. TheDiamondProspects.com is the headquarters of high school baseball in this state but you’ll also find it to be an informative site filled with interesting articles written by interesting baseball people! Please email your spring, summer and fall schedules to [email protected] or mail to PO Box 51438, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579. With your help, we will get out and cover baseball in South Carolina the way it’s supposed to be done! If you are interested in upcoming events that will be hosted by Diamond Prospects, stay tuned to the website or you may also email us your contact information, we want to keep you in the loop! Check us out and see what you think…then tell others!

Player Profiles

-2012- Name High School Joshua Escoffier James Island Justin Driver Palmetto Available to 2012 graduates only. .

Add Player Profile

-Add Your Player Profile- High School players: If you’d like to have your personal profile and baseball resume listed on the TheDiamondProspects.com, no problem! Contact Austin Alexander, via email, and we’ll send a list of questions for you to answer for us. The service costs $50.00, can be updated twice a year and will remain on the Diamond Prospects website until you graduate from high school. College coaches visit our site daily; it might just be worth your time to take a look into this outlet as a way for you to be identified and promoted. .

Diamond Quotes

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. Matthew 1:18-25 ‘For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.’ Jeremiah 29, 13-14 “Service to others is the rent you pay for your room on Earth.” “If your mind can believe it, you can achieve it.” Muhammed Ali “I have always been determined to never compromise my faith or my principles. I always relied on my God-given talent when I took the field. So the idea of using PED’s to enhance my performance was a line I chose not to cross.” Tim Salmon “How great is our God who not only pursues us, but transforms us as well. This is not to say that Christians are perfect, or have it all figured out, or don’t struggle. But we know that our flaws and shortcomings do not hinder the work God is doing. It is a process, a journey that we are on for the rest of our lives and all we really have to do, is give it up to God and surely we can do all things through Him.” Heath Bell “Paul wrote about faith and perseverance and hard work overcoming adversity, and he didn’t worry about why things had gone against him. The more I read, the more I realized the one thing that I was to do during a tough spell, a long slump, a “jinx”: Press on, look forward, trust the One who truly controls my life.” Gary Carter “God does not show favor in who wins or loses a ballgame. However, he does have delight in those who honor him during their successes and their failures, on and off the playing field.” Anonymous “God has taken me a lot of places. Plenty of teams and Japan for a while too. I believe that he was preparing me for this moment and this opportunity. His plan is always better than ours, I give Him all the glory and I am only in this position because of Him.” Ryan Voglesong, following NLCS Game 6 “I don’t want to cower at somebody’s interpretation of what I’m about. I’m supposed to be doing it and I’m going to throw this word out there-with excellence. There’s no reason for me to give anything less that all I’ve got in everything I do. That’s scriptural. For me, that’s the foundation of who I am.” Mike Matheny “When you become a Christian, you learn to lean on Jesus, and now I don’t see how people go through life without him. I’m not legalistic in that. I don’t feel like I can perform for God and adhere to a bunch of rules for God to love me. But Jesus has become my best Friend. I talk to him like that. When I approach God, I call Him “Daddy” like it says we can do in Romans. And that kind of relationship soothes you when things don’t go the way you want them. That’s basically what has helped me get through my crazy career.” Paul Byrd In the Dominican Republic, when you’re a baseball player, you’re almost a god. People were telling me, “You’re young. You should be having fun. You might be a millionaire. You don’t need God.” I told them they were wrong. There is more to life than being rich and famous. Baseball stays here. It’s important to me, but I have my priorities. God is first! Matthew 6:33 – Aumary Telemaco “In 2003 while in Albuquerque I gave my life to Christ for the first time. My wife already a believer gave her life to Christ at the same time as well. Since that day my thoughts, and actions have taken a complete turnaround. In-turn my life has been saved thanks to promises of love and salvation I’m promised by God. I now have a purpose and goal in life and that is to be next to my father, Lord and Savior when my day of judgement comes. I want to be a diciple of Christ and and follow his teachings as well as draw others to follow and dedicate their life to Jesus Christ. Everyday is a new challenge and opportunity to make a difference. Life, baseball and everything is God given and if not for him we wouldn’t be here.” Adrian Gonzalez “God brought me to Himself at about the age of 4. My parents were devout believers and my Dad was in Bible College at the time. I remember hearing the gospel in Sunday School and I talked to my Mom about it one night before bed. It was clear to me that I was a sinner and I was not going to heaven if I died without accepting Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross for me. I was brought to Christ out of fear of going to …

Commitments

-Commitments- Class of 2015 Class of 2014 Class of 2013 Class of 2012 Class of 2011 Class of 2010 Class of 2009 Class of 2008 Class of 2007 Class of 2006 .

Summer Baseball Links

Travel/Legion Programs Organization Website Blue Chip Baseball Click Here Bodyshop Baseball Click Here Canes Baseball Click Here Carolina Combat Click Here Diamond Devils Click Here Flornce Post 1 Click Here Hitmen National Click Here Legacy Baseball Click Here Power Baseball – SC Click Here SEB Prime Click Here Showtime Baseball Click Here South Carolina Legion Baseball Click Here Southern Athletics Click Here T24 Gamecocks Click Here Team Elite – Platinum Click Here Upstate Mavericks Click Here USA Prime – SC Click Here

Recruiting 101

-Recruiting 101- Your Guide Through the Recruiting Process! Are you finding the recruiting process tiring, confusing or intimidating? Most players and parents do. You owe it to your son and his future to educate yourself from start to finish on the recruiting game. Have you considered the following: -How can I best promote my son? -What are college coaches actually looking for in a prospect? -How does scholarship money get distributed throughout a team? -What kinds of financial aid may be available for my son? -How do I know if a school is sincerely interested in my son? -What should my son look for in a school, baseball program and coach? -What is the difference between a junior college versus a four-year school? -How do I handle my options as the MLB draft approaches? -What kinds of questions should I ask on a college visit? -What are the rules that players and coaches must abide by? -What does a verbal commitment really mean? -What are the advantages/disadvantages to my son signing a letter of intent during the early signing period? These are just a few of the questions that people often ponder while having to make one of life’s most challenging decisions. Our staff has quite a few years of experience as a college recruiting coordinator, and on the other side of these question marks. E4 owner and Diamond Prospects’ David Beckley has 17 years of D1 Recruiting Coordinator experience to council you now! Allow us to assist you during this critical time in his life! We are willing to sit down with you and your son to comb over the process while also providing as much information for you as we can on the colleges that he may be considering. We prefer to conduct these meetings over the phone but will also counsel in person. Please refer to the options you have below. If you are interested, email [email protected] so we can set up a time and date to talk. Remember, this time only rolls around once for your son, let us help you! Counseling Options Phone Counsel: $125 per hour. Description: Phone conversation with us. We will go over the recruiting process, offer useful advice and answer any questions or concerns you may have. You will be emailed an informative package to recap the process. In Person: $150 + $0.50 per mile (round trip). Description: We will come to your home or choice of meeting place to speak with the family and player. We will go over the recruiting process, offer useful advice and answer any questions or concerns you may have. You will be left with an informative package to recap the process. Seminar: Price is negotiable. Description: We come to your high school or choice of meeting place to speak with a group of families. We will go over the recruiting process, offer useful advice and answer any questions or concerns you may have. You will be left with an informative package to recap the process. Note: We will also be available to speak with you after Diamond Prospects events or following games we attend.

Event Calendar

-Spring 2009- Coming Soon! Do you know of a tournament coming up that we don’t have listed? E-mail Diamond Prospects with information, dates and location of any event you know of. We want our Event Calendar to be complete, it takes your help to find out about everything on the baseball landscape! .