Boyd-Buchanan pitcher Brandon Willingham and second baseman Nathan Murrell have earned second-team spots on the Tennessee Baseball Report All-State baseball team.
Willingham, a rising junior, and Murrell, who in early June signed a baseball scholarship with Lee University, led the Bucs to a 29-11 record and a spot in the Class A state tournament. The Bucs finished fifth in the final TBR Class A poll.
“Both players are very deserving of this honor,” Boyd-Buchanan coach Josh Rider said Friday. “Nathan had a great season and career for us. And I think Brandon can only get better as he gets into workout programs and becomes stronger. He’s going to be pretty dominant on the mound for the next two years. The sky is the limit for him.”
Willingham went 10-0 as a sophomore and recorded 84 strikeouts in 62.2 innings while posting a 1.56 ERA. The 10 wins, 84 strikeouts and 17 in a no-hit effort against Copper Basin during the regular season were all school records.
The hard-throwing right-hander has been playing summer ball with the 16-under Tennessee Twisters and helped that team to a 21-6 record. He will pitch one game this weekend with the 17-under team. He was 5-1 with a 1.7 ERA with the 16-under Twisters and had three saves coming out of the bullpen.
“I started quite a bit and did a lot of middle relief, coming in several times in the third inning when guys might have been struggling,” Willingham said. “I benefitted a lot from all that work in tournament where a lot of scouts were watching games.
“In summer ball you get a lot of competition against really good players your own age from all over the country.
As for the all-state honor, Willingham said, “It means a lot to me. I’m still young and really wasn’t expecting anything like this when the season ended. It feels good to be on the team along with Nathan and some other really good players.”
Willingham was also named to the TBR All-Region Freshman/Sophomore Team, along with teammates Cade Evans, Colby Morgan, Seth Rogers and E.J. Matthews.
Murrell batted .427 this season, including going 4-for-11 with four RBIs in three state tournament games and collected 53 hits – second on the school’s all-time list – and set a school mark with 52 RBIs.
At the team’s postseason banquet Murrell shared two top honors – Most Valuable Player with Jim Cardwell and Offensive Player of the Year with Evans.
“I’ve always worked hard and getting this all-star honor proves that hard work does pay off,” said Murrell, who played summer ball with the Dalton (Ga.) Tigers. “I’m going to miss being at Boyd-Buchanan, but I’m looking forward to playing at Cleveland State.”
2014 Tennessee Baseball Report All-State Team
First Team
|
Position
|
Player Name
|
School
|
|
Pitcher
|
Justus Sheffield
|
Tullahoma
|
|
Pitcher
|
Logan Gentry
|
Dobyns-Bennett
|
|
Pitcher
|
Donny Everrett
|
Clarksville
|
|
Pitcher
|
Alex Hicks
|
Collierville
|
|
Pitcher
|
Patrick Raby
|
Farragut
|
|
Pitcher
|
Paxton Stover
|
Dyer County
|
|
First Base
|
Chase Chambers
|
Farragut
|
|
Second Base
|
Tyler Brown
|
Dyer County
|
|
Short Stop
|
Hunter Tackett
|
Anderson County
|
|
Third Base
|
Juwan Burney
|
Arlington
|
|
IF
|
Kyle Ouelette
|
Science Hill
|
|
IF
|
Trey Cabbage
|
Grainger
|
|
IF
|
Darek Sargent
|
Central Magnet
|
|
Outfield
|
Jared Schmidt
|
Houston
|
|
Outfield
|
Bryce Denton
|
Ravenwood
|
|
Outfield
|
Lane Thomas
|
Bearden
|
|
Outfield
|
Zane Britton
|
North Greene
|
|
Outfield
|
Carter Wiseman
|
Goodpasture
|
|
2 Way
|
Connor Alexander
|
Tipton-Rosemark Academy
|
|
2 Way
|
Zack Finchum
|
Greeneville
|
|
2 Way
|
Matt Poteete
|
Jackson Christian
|
|
2 Way
|
James Paisley
|
Cookeville
|
|
Catcher
|
Nico Mascia
|
Farragut
|
|
Catcher
|
Sy Taylor
|
Lipscomb Academy
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Second Team
|
|
|
|
Position
|
Player Name
|
School
|
|
Pitcher
|
Matt Williams
|
Oneida
|
|
Pitcher
|
Brandon Willingham
|
Boyd Buchanan
|
|
Pitcher
|
Micah Kaczor
|
Ravenwood
|
|
Pitcher
|
Hayden Crowe
|
Jackson Christian
|
|
Pitcher
|
Skyler Harrison
|
Halls
|
|
First Base
|
Chase Frye
|
Warren County
|
|
First Base
|
Kyle Hubbuch
|
Wilson Central
|
|
Second Base
|
Damon Grubb
|
Rockwood
|
|
Second Base
|
Brandon Montgomery
|
Collierville
|
|
Short Stop
|
Nathan Murrell
|
Boyd Buchanan
|
|
Short Stop
|
Logan Blackfan
|
Houston
|
|
Third Base
|
Christian Bailey
|
Dobyns-Bennett
|
|
Third Base
|
Curt Hoppe
|
Mt. Juliet
|
|
Outfield
|
Ayrton Shafer
|
Houston
|
|
Outfield
|
Collie Currie
|
North Side
|
|
Outfield
|
Corey Johnson
|
White House
|
|
Outfield
|
Dusty Meador
|
Watertown
|
|
Outfield
|
Tyler Atwood
|
Gordonsville
|
|
Outfield
|
McKenzie Jackson
|
Central Magnet
|
|
Outfield
|
Aaron Powers
|
Oakdale
|
|
Outfield
|
DeAires Moses
|
East Nashville
|
|
Outfield
|
Lucas Riddick
|
Dyersburg
|
|
Catcher
|
Nick Hutchins
|
Franklin
|
|
Catcher
|
Marshall Gei
|
Mt. Juliet
|
|
Catcher
|
Cameron Clabough
|
Daniel Boone
|
(E-mail Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @larryfleming44)