2024 FHS trio commit to UAB, West Point, Cincinnati Bearcats
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Jake Merrick
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Michael Delph
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Gavin Brewer
Jake Merrick, Farragut star second baseman/infielder, has committed to the University of Alabama, Birmingham.
As for how FHS has prepared him for college, “I’d say since everyone is so close with each other, if you see someone putting in work, everyone will follow you,” Merrick said. “And so everyone’s just working all day, every day. People just lead by example there.”
The FHS senior said the Blazers coaching staff likely will place him at third base.
Michael Delph, one of the Admirals’ top pitchers since his freshman season, has committed to accepting an Appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point (Army), New York.
“I decided it just felt like that’s what God led me to do,” said the senior, also a utility player with the two-time defending state champs who hopes to do the same at West Point. “Actually, when they reached out, I knew it was a military academy but I didn’t really know all the benefits and everything that came with it. My dad’s dad, my grandpa (Kurt Delph), he was a drill instructor in the Marines for a real long time. And my dad’s brother, my uncle, and his two sons, they had all served in the Marines as well. … So that definitely had a little bit of an impact on me deciding what I wanted to do.
“… I’ve always been interested in the military, but I never really thought that’s what I wanted to do until after looking it up. … We went up there, and it made it really tough to not want to go there after seeing the campus.”
Delph’s father, Mark Delph, “played baseball in college,” his son said.
Gavin Brewer, FHS standout catcher, has committed to the University of Cincinnati.
“I just really liked the recruiting and how they came and got me,” the senior catcher said. “Just like, after seeing me a couple of times, it felt like they were very interested in me and it felt like the right thing to do. It’s my first offer and I just wanted to get it off the table. So I went ahead and took it.”
About the campus, “I liked that everything was close together and all the upgrades that they’re about to do. I think it’ll be really cool with turf in the field and doing a batting facility,” Brewer said.
