Colt Wilkins (Bob Sutton / Randolph Record)
Former Uwharrie Charter Academy pitcher Colt Wilkins became a baseball player without a school or a team this spring.
“It’s probably the craziest thing that has happened to me in my life,” Wilkins said. “You don’t hear about colleges closing down.”
That’s what happened when school officials at Limestone announced this spring that the university would close at the end of the school year last month because of financial problems.
Wilkins, a right-hander, still has another season of college eligibility remaining.
“Thankfully, I had good numbers and I had a lot of schools reaching out,” he said.
One of them was Division II power Catawba. Wilkins is lined up to play his final season for the school in Salisbury.
Wilkins, 21, played his first college season for Division II UNC Pembroke before transferring to Limestone, a Division II school in South Carolina.
This year, he posted a 6-4 record with a 3.26 earned run average in a team-high 14 starts. He struck out 60 batters across 80 innings.
Wilkins threw a five-hitter in the Saints’ 2-0 victory against Coker in a South Atlantic Conference Tournament game in early May on Catawba’s field. That turned out to be the Limestone program’s second-to-last victory.
He said he’s concerned that not all his Limestone teammates will be as fortunate as him.
“Now all those guys are in the (transfer) portal,” he said. “I feel bad for the guys not getting looks.”
Wilkins said he was bummed to have to move out at Limestone for a couple of months at home before moving again to go to Catawba.
From an academic perspective it should work out for the exercise science major.
“They’re taking all my credits,” he said.
The 6-foot-1 Wilkins said he won’t pitch this summer because of his busy workload during the past season.
Wilkins is also a former American Legion player for Randolph County Post 45. His younger brothers, Walker Wilkins and Logun Wilkins, have been on recent Class 1A state championship teams with UCA.
