By Scott Nickerson
Elmore/Autauga News
After a successful high school baseball career at Stanhope Elmore High, Zach Stevens will continue his career in college at the University of South Alabama in Mobile. He has already overcome some adversity. Before his senior season, Stevens injured his elbow, but opted to play through the pain for his last year with the Mustangs. While he was unable to continue pitching, where he excelled as one of the Mustangs’ best and hardest throwers, Stevens played his final season at 2nd base. Stevens had started at shortstop as an 8th grader in addition to his pitching duties.
In his sophomore season, he had 77 strikeouts and 7 wins pitching from the mound. From the plate, Stevens batted .280 and had 17 RBIs. As a junior, Stevens only gave up 26 hits during the entire season and finished with a career Earned Run Average of 2.47, averaging 11.7 strikeouts per 7 innings.
Stevens earned All County honors 2021-2023, a 4-year Perfect Game All American, a North/South All Star, and a recipient of the Conrad Henderson scholarship.
Stevens had several memorable games, but one that stuck out in his mind was the 2nd round playoff contest in the Class 6A playoffs his senior year. “One of the most memorable games at Stanhope Elmore was this past year against Hueytown. The week leading up to this game, half a dozen of my teammates got the ‘stomach bug’ including myself. During this week, I missed two days of practice and lost a total of 11 pounds. Going into Friday’s game, we were all worried how our bodies would respond because of this sickness. The team overcame adversity and handled business. My favorite moment from this game was when there was an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play to hold the Golden Gophers to zero runs going into the 6th inning.”
The Mustangs ended up shutting out Hueytown in both games to advance in the playoffs.
Individually, Stevens was proud of the reputation he set to give 100 percent effort at all times. “My most memorable accomplishment at Stanhope Elmore is the fact that when I stepped on the mound, I was going to give the team a chance to win. Everyone on the team knew that if I stepped on the field, I was gonna give it all I had. An individual accomplishment that I appreciate is I hold the record for the fastest thrown baseball across the infield in recent history at 100MPH.”
Choosing South Alabama as his college destination was based on several factors.
“I chose South Alabama because of the long line of success throughout the program. My goal is to play for a very long time, and I feel as if South Alabama is going to develop me into a better player and person. The coaches down at South Alabama are hard to beat. Coach Nick Magnifico did a very good job with the whole recruiting process and making it feel more like a friendship rather than a business. Coach Mark Calvi has had a long line of success, he has led the Jags to three Sunbelt Conference Championships, and one SBC tournament title. Coach Brad Philips is the pitching coach at South Alabama, and over the 1 1/2 years I have been communicating with him, he has been nothing but helpful through everything. Culture is a big part of who I am as a person, and to be able to walk into a program with culture like the Jags, it is unbelievable.”
Prior to beginning his career at South Alabama, Stevens had UCL repair with an Internal Brace surgery.
“I have been taking it easy, and mainly working on the mental side of pitching, and learning more behind the science aspect. I have been working out my legs and have been working on my rotational power. I plan to be able to compete for a position at South Alabama for my freshman season.”
Stevens has straight forward, but lofty goals post-high school. One is to win a national championship at South Alabama. Another is to get drafted in the Major League Baseball draft. But he has one goal that perhaps is the most important and shows that he was raised right and destined for good things.
“I would mainly like to be successful in whatever life has ahead of me, and to be happy.”
