By Scott Nickerson
Elmore/Autauga News
Stanhope Elmore graduate Colin Woodham is headed to play baseball collegiately at Jacksonville State University after a successful high school career with the Mustangs. Woodham showed outstanding control on the mound for the Mustangs, with a career Earned Run Average of 1.7255.
Over his junior and senior seasons, Woodham had 158 strikeouts and only 29 walks. After his junior season Woodham was named 2nd Team All State in Class 6A by the Alabama Sports Writers Association. In his final season, Woodham had an 8-3 won/loss record and pitched in 12 games, only allowing 16 earned runs. He was the winning Game 1 pitcher for the Mustangs during the first three rounds of the Class 6A playoffs as Stanhope Elmore advanced to the semi-finals.
Defeating Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa in the 3rd round of the playoffs was Woodham’s most memorable game as a Mustang. “We had matched up with the Patriots the past two years, once in the first round and once in the third round and left both times with our season coming to an end. This game meant more to us than any other game. When we got the chance to go back and play them this past year we knew we had to get redemption for the previous seniors that had lost to them. We battled our hearts out and left that Thursday night with two wins and a chance to play in the fourth round.”
Woodham’s most memorable individual accomplishment was when he hit a home run. “Growing up I was never a ‘Power’ hitter so I rarely hit any over the fence. When people think of me, they see me as a pitcher and not much of a hitter. So, hitting the homer made me feel as if I had achieved this amazing accomplishment in my life. As a pitcher, I expect to have many accomplishments on the mound, but I never really expected myself to be able to do such a thing that not many high school players get to experience.”
He was the winner of the Cy Young Award in 2020 and was a finalist for the Joe Sewell Award in 2023. Academically, Woodham was a member of the National Beta Club Honors Society from 2021-2023 and a member of the National Technical Honor Society in 2023. He earned All A’s as a junior and a senior and was in the Top 10% of the 2023 graduating class at Stanhope Elmore.
The decision to choose Jacksonville State University was based on a number of different factors.
“I chose Jacksonville State because of the baseball reputation that Coach Jim Case has made. I really felt like I was at home and could see myself playing there. Jax State has a very nice campus and is one of the top ranked business schools. Jax State also has some of the top facilities in the country, so that was a big bonus of committing there.”
Woodham hopes to be a part of a Jacksonville State team that makes it to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
“My ultimate goal is to make it to Omaha and play for a ring. I also have smaller goals like being a weekend pitcher, winning the Conference USA Tournament, making it to a Regional/Super Regional.”
In preparation for his first collegiate season, Woodham is spending five days a week in the weight room and doing meal prep, with a goal to be as strong as possible before arriving on campus in the fall.
