Larry Penkava
Staff Writer
LIBERTY —
A solid senior year of baseball has propelled Tyler See to the next level.
An ace starter on the mound for Providence Grove High School and the Post 81 American Legion teams, See plans to take his skills to Guilford Technical Community College. And after some serious health problems during his high school career, he feels fortunate to still be playing ball.
“In my freshman year I tore my rotator cuff,” said the tall, rangy pitcher. “Then I took my sophomore and junior years off from American Legion. When I got to (newly-opened) Providence Grove, I didn’t have much confidence.”
Bouts with shingles and mononucleosis didn’t help. But a senior season during which See put up impressive numbers helped him not only regain his confidence but begin shopping around for a college.
During the past year at Providence Grove, See had seven wins, a 3.10 ERA and struck out more than 50 batters. Even though he doesn’t consider himself a hitter, while playing the infield he hit for a .338 average and slapped his first home run – a grand slam.
See said he could have played at Methodist or Pfeiffer, with the opportunity to double up with basketball at Methodist. But he decided to focus on baseball at GTCC.
“Their coach is John Barrow,” said See. “I’d heard a lot about him and I talked to him on the phone. Basically, I’ll be playing for another year of exposure.”
His plan is to play a year at the college level – receiving college-level coaching and getting used to the college atmosphere – then transfer to a four-year school. See wants to major in business.
“I hope to play Division I ball and maybe the next level,” he said.
Asked what he considered his strengths as a player, See said he has good velocity, although there’s room for improvement, and he’s been told he has “good breaking stuff.”
And what are his best memories of his prep career?
“My senior year was the best,” he said. “That was pretty exciting.”
