By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Four members of the Burlington Christian Academy baseball team made their college pledges clear as they’ll be going in different directions. That might be appropriate because they arrived at BCA via various avenues.
Pitcher J.D. Mace will go to Gardner-Webb, while catcher Davis Phillips is heading to Division II Francis Marion; pitcher Will Grubb picked Division II Bluefield (West Virginia) State; and infielder/catcher Gib Wirt chose Division III Hampden-Sydney.
Mace has been on a steady path by attending BCA since early elementary school years, while the others are transfers for this school year from The Burlington School.
“They’re really experienced players and know how to play the game,” Mace said.
Mace is a 6-foot-7, 210-pound right-hander who throws up to 91 mph. He played on the travel circuit with Golden Spikes through North Carolina Baseball Academy, which was founded by former major league pitcher Scott Bankhead.
“It has always been my dream to be a D-I athlete, especially getting to pitch at that level,” Mace said.
Mace might be the Royals’ headliner on the mound by late March once he’s in action following an injury sustained during basketball season.
“I’m excited to watch these guys the first part of the season and then play with them,” Mace said.
The other three players to make college commitments arrived from TBS after various periods of time with the crosstown rivals.
“They fit in on Day 1, maybe a couple of days before Day 1,” BCA coach Justin Brown said.
Chad Holland was the trio’s coach at TBS, where he began the program and then stepped down following the 2024 season. He spoke glowingly about the players during a BCA signing ceremony last week in Mebane.
Wirt was a member of the Spartans program since middle school, making him a part of North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association Class 2-A state championships in 2022 and 2023.
“A huge part of our culture, you built it,” Holland said.
Wirt said he appreciated how he was given opportunities to make early impacts with TBS.
“They added me right along to them and I got to train with those guys,” Wirt said.
Wirt called the BCA team “a new family that I never knew I needed.”
The player’s father, Todd Wirt, had an influence on Gib Wirt and Grubb as a coach of their travel team for five years. Grubb spent a season at TBS following a transfer from Southeast Guilford.
Phillips played two seasons at TBS after leaving Orange.
“He made our team instantly better,” Holland said.
Phillips said he was determined to be on the radar to play college baseball.
“I’ve always been chasing baseball,” he said.
Now, he’s collaborating with familiar teammates and forging new relationships at BCA.
“We’re really close already,” Phillips said.
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