Round 41, Pick 1228: Alan Williams | RF, Mangham HS | NOT SIGNING

[!NICK!]

Discuss

[markotsay7]

We will not be signing him. Also, he's apparently more of a P than a RF.

As a 41st round draft selection by the Florida Marlins, it is not too shocking to know Mangham pitcher Alan Williams will not go straight to pro ball out of high school. The left-hander made another decision over the last couple of weeks, however, that is dropping some jaws. The Louisiana Tech signee seems to be throwing the Bulldogs off the table, as well, after confirming Monday that he is taking the junior college route and heading to Meridian Community College in Mississippi. "I like the program, I like the coaches — they've got a good coaching program and they've got a good ball club," Williams said. "They've got a lot of people that go Division I, and a lot of people that leave early for the draft. I like the draft idea. I can go to a junior college for a year and still get picked up in the draft." Williams posted a 16-3 record his senior season, that ended in the semi-finals of the Class 1A state tournament. He recorded a 1.01 ERA with 206 strikeouts. "He has tremendous work ethic," Mangham coach Scott Wilcher said. "He has been a joy to coach for four years. He was the leader of this team and the rest of the kids just fell in line. It's a big thing for the community too. It puts Mangham on the map. I can only see his draft stock getting higher over the years." The lefty also hit .437 with seven home runs, but said he had not broken the news of his change of heart to Tech coach Wade Simoneaux yet. "I haven't done that yet," Williams said. "I'm sure he knows. He probably heard the word around a little bit." If Simoneaux had heard word, he did not seem to think it was a sure deal he was losing Williams. "He was depending on his next test score (ACT) and looking at other options just in case," Simoneaux said. "He's a tremendous kid and a tremendous athlete. We'd be excited to have him." Williams was one of 22 pitchers the Marlins drafted last week. "I didn't even know I didn't get to see it go across the screen," Williams said. "I was actually playing ball at the time. I got a text message from another coach that said, 'Congratulations.' I called him and he said 'Yeah, it just came across the screen.'"

Tech baseball signee from Mangham chooses junior college route | thenewsstar.com | The News Star