Brotherly love
- Updated: November 8, 2023
How Central Alabama Community College bonded with brother helped Cleburne County’s Deese decide where to go.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
So many things impact a high school senior’s college choice. For Jayson Deese, how people in his immediate baseball future treated his older brother mattered.
The Cleburne County pitcher and first baseman signed Wednesday with Central Alabama Community College, where he expects 24-year-old brother Travis will continue to see him pitch.
“Every game,” Deese said. “He loves to see me play.”
Deese’s connection with CACC started when he played a travel-ball tournament there the summer prior to his junior season. Coaches liked what they saw, stayed in contact and scouted him, when Cleburne County played a team near CACC’s Alexander City campus.
“What I liked about it is, they really built a bond with me,” the lefty said. “They built a bond with my family plus my brother, and that’s a real big thing to me.
“Looking for a coach, I want them to build a bond with my brother because he has special needs, and I just loved the way that they were treating him and just talking to him.”
Jayson Deese has lots of fans in the school’s special-education class, and they showed up en masse to his signing ceremony in the school’s library, posters in hand.
He’s posterized more than a few hitters over the years. As a junior, he struck out 58 batters en route to a 3-3 record and 2.891 ERA.
He also batted .382 with a home run and 15 RBIs, two triples and 14 doubles.
“Great kid,” Cleburne County coach Robert Townsend said. “He’s worked real hard to get where he’s at. He goes beyond the call of duty to make himself better. He’s always working on stuff.
“He’s a great leader. He helps out the younger kids in our program. He helps out young kids in the county. He’s well deserving on playing on the next level.”
Signing to play college ball marked the realization of a dream for Deese, who started playing when he was 3.
“My ninth-grade year, I told myself I didn’t want my last baseball game to be in high school,” he said. “I wanted to go further.
“I kid you not, I’ll go to the gym twice a day and work on everything I can. I’ll go to the field and just grind and just get better.”
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