Allen signs with BMC Toppers
At Blue Mountain College, one of the biggest efforts on the horizon is the new baseball/softball sportsplex, set to open soon. After signing with the Toppers last week, one Red Bay senior is looking forward to setting foot on the shiny new diamond.
Chandler Allen, Red Bay’s lefty pitcher, signed with BMC in a ceremony Thursday surrounded by family, friends and teammates and joined by recruiter Adam Seahorn.
“He’s going to bring a lot of hard work and intensity we need. Chandler has a lot of potential, and that’s why we went after him,” Seahorn said. ‘We’re super excited about having him come and be part of the Topper family.”
Seahorn is 2011 RBHS alum. “I’ve known Chandler since he was a baby. I knew how much he loved baseball, and once I got my job at BMC, I said, ‘I’ve got to get him.’”
Allen will play for BMC eighth year Head Coach Curt Fowler.
“We are extremely excited to get Chandler,” Fowler said in a statement on BMC’s website. “We think he’ll have an immediate impact when he gets here.”
In his junior season at Red Bay, Allen is recorded for 44 innings, going 2-1 and getting three saves, as well as notching 42 strikeouts and boasting a 2.95 ERA. Allen makes the second signing this year from Red Bay baseball, the first being Landen Burgett to Bevill State. Having two signees from this year’s class is “such a blessing, especially coming from a small school,” Coach Richard Maggerise said. “It’s really a testament to how hard these boys have worked at Red Bay … It’s a privilege to be able to coach them.”
Maggerise praised Allen’s skill and determination.
“He’s an extremely hard worker. One thing you cannot take away from Chandler is his work ethic and the drive that he has,” Maggerise said. “He took his official visit to Blue Mountain, and they really sold him on the direction of the program, and he really felt at home. They really liked him. They called him every day, and they were calling me on the phone at 7 o’clock in the morning, wanting to talk about Chandler.”
Dad Joey Allen said his son was offered by Martin Methodist, as well, but he just clicked with the BMC team. “It’s something he has worked for for many years,” he said. “I’m just proud of him and excited he’s got the chance to play the game he loves at the next level.”
Joey Allen added, “Since he was 6 years old, we’ve thrown the ball to each other, and he started really concentrating on it at around 12, and we spent a lot of nights throwing the ball and a lot of weekends at ballfields … It’s something we do today. My arm is sore right now because I threw about 300 pitches the other night to let him getting some batting practice in. We still work at it every day. It’s something we love to do with each other – that’s our time together.”
Allen plans to major in secondary special education and become a baseball coach himself. He said he just felt the BMC was a great fit for him.
“Their coaches are extremely nice and made me feel like I was wanted there,” Allen said. “I’ve wanted to play college ball ever since I was little – I’ve loved the game since I can remember.”
But first he looks forward to one last season with the Red Bay Tigers.
