’22 grads push HWSA to 240 Alumni at Next Level

by | Oct 23, 2022 | Alumni Updates

The 2022 graduating class has pushed the HWSA’s total number of alumni who’ve advanced to collegiate baseball further over 200 – to a new total of 240. From this year’s graduating class, fourteen players have advanced on to the college level:

  • Sean Amarante, of the Houston Northside Falcons, has accepted an offer to play at Western Texas College in Snyder, TX
  • Elijah Behan, of the Fairfax Hawks, has accepted an offer to play at University of Valley Forge in Phoenixville, PA
  • Nathaniel Carabello, of the St. Louis Patriots, has accepted an offer to play at Lakeland College in Mattoon, IL
  • Tanner Chelette, of the Houston Northside Falcons, has accepted an offer to play at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, TX
  • Reid Coulter, of the St. Louis Patriots, has accepted an offer to play at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, MO
  • Christian Estep, of the Oklahoma City Broncos, has accepted an offer to play at Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa, OK
  • Trevor Harris, of the Fairfax Hawks, has accepted an offer to play at Eastern University in St. Davids, PA
  • Mark Moore, of the Richmond CVHAA Patriots, has accepted an offer to play at the Emory & Henry College in Emory, VA
  • Garrett Schmitz, of the St. Louis Patriots, has accepted an offer to play at Greenville University in Greenville, IL
  • Luke Tomajczyk, of the Richmond CVHAA Patriots, has accepted an offer to play at the Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, VA
  • Corbyn Torti, of the Carrollton TACA Storm, has accepted an offer to play at Arlington Baptist University, TX
  • Cade Wallace, of the Houston Northside Falcons, has accepted an offer to play at Tyler Junior College in Tyler, TX
  • Jack Wood, of the St. Louis Patriots, has accepted an offer to play at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, MO
  • Josh Zollo, of the Fairfax Hawks, has accepted an offer to play at Bluefield University in Bluefield, VA

Check out the full list here…. …And our alumni haven’t stopped there. We know of 10 HWSA alumni who went on to the Minor leagues. Four are still active now!…

 

And these 7 other HWSA alumni have also made their mark in professional baseball…

 

To our knowledge, there is only one HWSA alumnus who has made it to an MLB roster. Jake Smith, eight years after competing as a senior for the Augusta Crusaders in the 2008 HWSA tournament, was waived in July 2016 by the San Francisco Giants AA team in Richmond (after 4½ years in their system). He was probably wondering if his baseball career was coming to an end, short of his ultimate goal of making it to the majors. Providentially, the San Diego Padres weren’t about to let an arm of his talent clear waivers; they claimed him and soon elevated him to their MLB roster for the remainder of the 2016 season.

Making 4 appearances from the Padres’ bullpen that season, Smith allowed just 2 runs, 5 hits and 1 walk, striking out 3. His career MLB ERA is a very respectable 4.50 (as is his minors ERA at 3.23). It was a short stint in the Majors, as San Diego sent him to AAA in 2017, but in that short time, Smith validated the Padres’ belief in him and proved he could compete at the MLB level.

Hats off, Jake, for making your dream come true, and for showing everyone affiliated with the HWSA tournament that with talent and lots of hard work, it’s possible for homeschool ballplayers to reach the pinnacle of the sport.

 

Please contact us if you have contact information for any of these players. We would love to write up their stories on the HWSA website so our community can hear about their baseball journey.

Also, please visit our Alumni Page and let us know if there are other HWSA alumni who’ve made it to the next level(s) – we’d love to include them in our listing.