Teal comes home, signs with Trojans

By Greg Rossino (Contact) | Troy Messenger

Published Wednesday, November 18, 2009

William Teal is coming home.

The former Charles Henderson High School baseball player is getting the opportunity to play the game he loves in the town he grew up in.

Teal signed a commitment letter on Tuesday afternoon that would give him the opportunity to play baseball for the Troy Trojans and in the process see a dream he had, come true.

“I have grown up around the program,” Teal said. “To be able to come back and play at Troy is both exciting and a relief.”

“I knew this was the team I wanted to be on – signing those papers was pretty exciting.”

The six-foot-three, 180-pound right hander will be able to playing for the Trojans during the 2011 season, following his the season with his current school the Northwest-Shoals Patriots.

While pitching for the Patriots last season, Teal earned the teams Friday night pitching spot, which is equivalent to the team’s No. 1 starter.

“I had to get stronger, and learn the game,” he said about his time at the community college.

“Earning experience and getting to the point where I could join a team like the Trojans is what I really dedicated myself to during my time [at NW-SCC].”

Teal, who was a part of the 2004 13-year-old World Series championship team, said playing for Troy was one of his main goals while at NW-SCC.

“I knew I wasn’t ready when I got out of high school, but I am in the position I want to be in and I am excited about that,” he added.

Teal said hard work helped him achieve this dream and he doesn’t plan on letting up once he arrives with the Trojans.

“I am going to do my best to earn a spot in their rotation and do whatever it is [Troy] need me to do,” he said. “I am so glad for this opportunity.”

This isn’t the first time the Trojan coaches have heard of Teal however.

“I have known coach [Bobby] Pierce and coach [Mark] Smartt for a while now,” Teal said.

“I have played baseball with coach Pierce’s son before and have known coach Smartt’s kids for a while so I know both coaches pretty well.”

Pierce, himself, said he was very pleased to bring the Troy-native back.

“Very happy to have him returning to Toy and entering our program,” Pierce said.

The experience that he has been able to gain at [NW-SCC] pitching in the No. 1 spot for most of it not all his career should serve him well coming into next year.

“He is a kid with a high ceiling for sure. He has done a lot to improve both his strength and command and we look forward to having him come back and joining our program,” the coach added.

Teal will be coming back home this weekend when he takes his official visit with the program.

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