Baseball news
- Updated: July 14, 2025
Former Oxford standout, key figure on 2023 state-championship team, selected by the New York Mets; two Gamecocks picked; Jacksonville grad Long an AAPB all-star
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
Sam Robertson, all-state shortstop for Oxford’s 2023 Class 6A state championship baseball team, went in the 17th round of the Major League Baseball draft to the New York Mets Monday.
Robertson was the 523rd pick overall. The Mets offered him a $150,000 signing bonus and paid for his college, he said.
Robertson will head to the Mets’ training complex in Port St. Lucie, Fla.
“I’ll start slowly building up to game speed again,” he said. “From there, I could go into some live practices, some live ABs (at bats), and potentially play in a few games at the end of August.”
Robertson becomes the second member of the 2023 state-title team drafted. Carter Johnson went to the Marlins in the second round of the 2024 draft.
Robertson initially signed with Auburn University out of high school. He played this season with Northwest Shoals Community College. He batted .362 as a sophomore at Northwest, with a .469 on-base percentage, 35 RBIs, four home runs, five triples and 14 doubles among 71 total hits in 196 at bats. He had a .942 fielding percentage.
Robertson started over at Northwest because former Oxford teammates Hayes Harrisona and R.J. Brooks were there, as well as other Birmingham-area Top Gun Athletic players with whom he grew up playing.
Robertson said he considered his circuitous route to being drafted “fuel.”
“I honestly just took it as a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “Being at the top, being in the SEC, and now you’re playing in JUCO, it’s just like, put your head down and work. That was my whole mentality, was to put your head down and go to work and use this as fuel.
“I ended up having a good year, and I knew this was a possibility. This is what the Lord led me to, and I couldn’t be more grateful.”
Two Gamecocks picked
Jacksonville State pitcher Jackson Phipps went in the 16th round to the A’s (470th overall), and pitcher Joe Scarborough went in the 19th round (583rd overall) to the Mets.
The Gamecocks’ Friday night starter throughout the 2025 season, Phipps was a second-team All-Conference USA selection. He held CUSA hitters to a .205 batting average against him in 46.0 innings and ranked third in the league with 71 strikeouts. He posted a 3.59 ERA in 67.2 innings.
Scarborough made 19 appearances out of the bullpen for the Gamecocks in 2025. He tossed 18 1/3 innings with 14 strikeouts. He collected a pair of saves and posted four wins as a junior.
Long an all-star
Jacksonville High graduate Shed Long has been named to the American Association of Professional Baseball All-Star Game, set for Tuesday, July 22 in Fargo, N.D. He plays for the Cleburne Railroaders in the MLB Partner League.
Long was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the 12th round of the 2013 MLB draft. He played in the major leagues for the Seattle Mariners and Baltimore Orioles. In 2020, he underwent surgery on his right tibia.
Long is batting .271 with 25 RBIs, five home runs, one triple and 13 doubles among 81 hits in 225 at bats.
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