From staff reports
South Bend Cub Kane Kepley (South Rowan, Liberty, UNC) continues to look like a future MLB leadoff man and center fielder.
Kepley leads the Midwest League (High A) in runs (81), steals (39), walks (70) and on-base percentage (.452), and he’s even hit four homers. His defense has been stellar.
Kepley is also a rare lefty who gets on base with no problems against lefty pitching. His on-base percentage is actually higher (.474) against lefties. He’s walked more (17 times) than he’s struck out (10 times) against left-handers.
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Cobb Hightower (East Rowan) has returned to the Delmarva Shorebirds lineup after missing 2.5 months with a shoulder injury.
Hightower played in Complex League rehab games for a week and hit two homers.
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Austin Love (West Rowan) got his first win for Triple-A Memphis.
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Jake Hunter (East Rowan. East Carolina) returned to the mound on June 27 for his first action of the season in the Florida Complex League.
Hunter began the season on the disabled list with a right shoulder impingement.
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CJ Gray (A.L. Brown) has pitched in five games for the Angels in the Arizona Complex League.
He’s pitched 11.1 innings, striking out 16 and walking seven.
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Vance Honeycutt (Salisbury, UNC) is batting .194 with 78 strikeouts, although he’s showing flashes of the ability that made him a first-round pick by Baltimore in 2024. Honeycutt has eight homers and 22 steals and he’s scored 30 runs. His walk rate is solid and his defense is exceptional. His strikeouts are actually down some from 2025, but he’s still striking out on 37 percent of his trips to the plate, and that’s making it difficult for the Orioles to move him up to Double-A.
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Harrison Ailshie (East Rowan), who will command several million dollars if he chooses to sign, may be the first local player picked in the upcoming MLB draft. The future for Ailshie, a UNC recruit and current summer school student, has a lot of variables, but it seems likely he’ll be picked in the first two rounds.
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The surest local to be drafted is JT Taylor (NC A&T), who spent June playing in the MLB Draft League.
Taylor continues to show elite range as an infielder, he’s getting on base at a high rate, and he’s showing he can hit home runs with a wood bat.
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The list of potential local draft picks includes pitchers Haiden Leffew (South Rowan, Wake Forest, Texas), Hayden Simmerson (Carson, Catawba, Clemson) and Cameron Padgett (East Rowan, UNC), infielder Steven Smith (West Rowan, Caldwell CC, Emory & Henry, App State) and outfielder Cole Blevins (West Rowan, UNC Wilmington signee).
Smith was honored on June 28 in Boone for his contributions to App State and to the Boone Bigfoots, a college wood bat team that plays home games on the App State field. Smith carried the Bigfoots’ offense often in many Coastal Plain League games.
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Teenager Coy James (Davie) is only batting .221 in A ball, but it’s been a dangerous .221 with 46 runs scored and 47 RBIs. James has nine homers and 21 steals. His on-base percentage is .353.
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Carson Whisenhunt (Davie, East Carolina) would appear to be a likely trade candidate at the MLB deadline. The Giants don’t seem to have a place for him in their rotation, but a lot of MLB teams could use him. The big lefty doesn’t have anything left to prove in Triple A, where he’s dominated this season.
LOCAL GOLF
SALISBURY – GARS members played at the Revival at the Crescent.
Low A Flight player was Jan Gunter with a net of 64.22. Low B Flight player was Ed Miller with a net of 60.84.
Low C Flight player was Lynn Shook with a net of 61.89. Low D Flight player was Tommie Horton with a net of 61.18.
Gunter shot 1-under par 71 to win low gross, while Miller won low net. Bobby Bryant was Super Senior this week with
a net of 66.34.
Four members beat their age.
Larry Petrea,74, shot a 73. Gunter,79, shot a 71. Miller,82, shot a 74. Bobby Clark,86, shot an 85.
Chris Bolick and Todd Grissom eagled the par-5 No. 4 hole.
SUMMER SOFTBALL
Reese Poole, a rising senior infielder at West Rowan who is committed to UNC Greensboro, was named to the all-star team for the Scenic City All-Star Games in Chattanooga.
Poole competed with lots of SEC and ACC recruits in one of the summer’s biggest tournaments.
LADY LEGION
Rowan County Junior Lady Legion’s Blue team swept a doubleheader from Davidson County on Monday.
Pitcher Regan Williams was a standout.
Rowan’s Junior Red Team lost both games of a doubleheader with Iredell County.
COLLEGE BASEBALL
The NJCAA named former Surry Community College baseball standout Elijah Palmer (West Rowan) as the recipient of the 2026 Lea Plarski Award and honored him during the NJCAA Foundation Hall of Fame Awards.
The Lea Plarski Award is presented annually to an NJCAA student-athlete who exemplifies excellence in athletics, academics, leadership and community service throughout his or her two-year college experience.
