CHS Awards in Baseball Handed Out

The Columbus High Blue Devils held their annual end of season banquet May 14th at Columbus High School. The post-season awards within the club, or CHS Awards were handed out after a wonderful dinner provided by CHS Alum Pierce Ressmeyer.

Freshman:
Best Offensive Player: Maddox Anderson (2027)
Best Defensive Player: Carter Dixon (2027)
Coaches Award: Lazarious “Z” Feggins (2027)

Maddox showed his prowess at the plate, batting lefty as a natural righty, all year long and earned a Varsity start at Shortstop when senior Will Taylor had to miss a game for a college visit. He figures to be in the mix next year battling for a spot.

Carter Dixon, the only Freshman State Champion in wrestling in Columbus High History, worked well behind the dish and MIF. Developing Catchers often take a few years and Carter is ahead of the curve. He’s a dynamo with speed on the bases, very strong, and has a good baseball mind. We’ll be cheering for him on the Mat and on the field for many years to come.

Lazarious Feggins is one of the bright spots you love to see every day at the field. My favorite memories from 2024 include seeing Z in street clothes around the dugout cheering as loud as he could during the playoffs. Huge potential and upside to his game. He came close to getting a few over the fence this year and we look forward to seeing him develop his skills over the next few years.

JV
Best Offensive Player: Walker Bridges (2025)
Best Defensive Player: Cody Mills (2025)
Co-Best Pitcher: Christian Spivey (2025) and Curtis McElhaney (2026)
Coaches Award: Michael Fox (2026)

Since his days at Peach Little League, Walker Bridges has been destroying baseballs. What changed this year for Walker was the consistency in doing damage. When Walker connects, there is a good chance the ball is going to dent something along its path, and in 2024, he dented a lot of objects.

Cody Mills is the definition of an “all-out” baseball player. Sacrificing his body in an every game occurrence. The multi-sport athlete has quick hands and feet paired with fantastic body control which allow him to play very solid baseball up the middle.

Christian Spivey was a new Blue Devil in his junior year at CHS after moving to Columbus from Virginia. After learning a new pitch this year, he became the “go-to” guy in JV and was probably ready for some innings at the Varsity level about midway through the year. Unfortunately, the right spot didn’t quite appear but he should be a huge factor toeing the rubber next year for CHS.

Curtis McElhaney has been a top level pitcher going back to his days at Peach Little League. Curtis added a few miles per hour and kept working through a season of ups and downs in his Sophomore year. He will be a huge wild card in just how much success the Blue Devils have on both the football and baseball fields next year and we are anxiously awaiting the time when Curtis gets his shot.

Michael Fox is also a multi-sport athlete. Fox was one of the Sophomores that really improved over the last year and is always entertaining in the dugout. The outfielder and pitcher will have several ways to contribute next year.

Varsity
Rookie of the Year: Caden Bryans (2025)
Best Defensive Player: Wilson Holland (2024)
Most Improved Pitcher: Jonathan Miller (2025)
Best Offensive Player: Collin Cates (2024)
Coaches Award: Deuce Malone (2024)
Teammate Award: Robert Harford (2024)
Co-Best Pitcher: Jack Brown (2024, Thomas University) and Michael Nottleman (2026)
Mr. April: Will Taylor (2024, Alabama A&M)
Roadrunner: Jamari Blackmon (2026)

Caden Bryans ended the season at .301 after getting off to a slow start. High School seasons typically aren’t long enough to withstand a slump, but Bryans was able to manage a complete turn-around after an 0-17 start. Batting a whopping .378 the rest of the way. Bryans also played a tremendous center field with huge shoes to fill after Nathyn Patrick graduated.

Wilson Holland was as steady defensively as he ever was. Battling a catchers thumb injury midway through the season. He had a fielding percentage of .996 to go with his fielding average of .997 last year behind the dish. Wilson was always a fierce warrior and field general defensively. My favorite description for him was “a pillow” behind the plate, because the ball never got too far away.

Jonathan Miller saw a dramatic increase in velocity in the 24 season and a much improved breaking ball. It propelled Jon to pitch 27.2 innings over 11 games for the Blue Devils with a .245 BAA and 36 strikeouts. A fantastic year for the junior who figures to take on an even larger roll next year.

Collin Cates started the year “en fuego” going 5-5 and never stopped, ending the year at .347. Collin was sidelined last year with a wrist injury right as he was heating up at the plate. This year was different. A constant in the Blue Devils lineup after graduating Nathyn Patrick, Andrew Wells, Jake Courville, Mason Schoonover, Pearson McKenzie, and Kobe Tamaski last year.

Senior Class President Deuce Malone is headed to Tennessee St. next year after a fine baseball and academic career at Columbus High. He came up big in several crucial situations for the Blue Devils this year as well as being one of the favorites in the clubhouse. He kept the books last year and was was always willing to lend a hand to the underclassmen.

Robert Harford played all four years of football, basketball and baseball. Known for his hilarious wit while leading cheers in the dugout and more for his 3 pointer than his swing. Robert was a constant force and what one could argue, a critical piece of the puzzle. One of my last impressions from the 2024 season was seeing some of the younger guys following in Robert’s footsteps and bringing positive energy wherever they could.

From March 9th on, Jack Brown had an ERA of .933 and a WHIP of .733. He only gave up one earned in the in 2 playoff starts. He was dominant to say the least, leading to a Pitcher of the Year award in Region 1-AAA. Big Jack stepped up in a big way and Thomas University took notice, where Jack will be attending next year. The Florida Baseball ARMory played a key role in his success.

Michael Nottleman avoided the dreaded Sophomore slump in a big way. The youngster threw 74+ innings striking out 87. He carried a sub two ERA all year until the last game of the playoffs where he tried to help his team after pitching a complete game the day before. Ending the year with a 2.1 ERA.

Will Taylor took home the Mr. April award (the playoff award) for the Blue Devils. The Shortstop went 6-14 in the playoffs with 2 doubles and 6 RBI, capping off a solid senior year which Alabama A&M rewarded him with an offer. He will be attending Alabama A&M in the fall.

Jamari “Smoke” Blackmon is yet another of the 2026 group that is a standout performer. He cracked the lineup a couple of times in the outfield this year and we expect to see him on a full time basis next year. He and Caden Bryans had an awesome stolen base competition all year and Smoke just edged Caden in the end. We’re hoping to see a lot of the same next year, hopefully with both of them pushing the 30’s in stolen bases!

ACADEMIC AWARDS
Freshman: Carter Dixon and Nick Hatchell tied with a 4.250 GPA
Sophomores: Thomas Williams and Wilson Walker tied with a 4.393 GPA
Juniors: Vinny Atkinson and Jonathan Miller tied with a 4.375 GPA
Senior: Collin Cates had a 4.536 and believe it or not, we didn’t have a tie, although Will Taylor was only a few thousandths of a point behind Collin.

Congrats to Every single Blue Devil who gave their absolute best efforts on the field and off, continuing the long tradition of what it means to be a Columbus High Blue Devil. We are… as Always, Columbus High!