Caudle excelled as a guard on the Piedmont Athletic Conference’s regular-season champion boys’ basketball team. That helped lead to a decision to play collegiately at Division III Brevard College.
He averaged 15.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists, and 3.3 steals for the Patriots. Caudle was the PAC Player of the Year.
Caudle placed fifth in the PAC Tournament for golf. That landed him an all-conference spot in that sport as well.
Brooks Brannon had a record-setting high school season with some incredible power-hitting numbers. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Randleman catcher awaits draft after season filled with thrills
RANDLEMAN — For all the noise Brooks Brannon can bring to a ballpark, it might be a level of calmness that helped him – and his teammates – most.
Yet there could be more commotion connected to his baseball career this weekend
when baseball’s amateur draft begins, and the Randleman catcher is bound to be among those selected.
Whether he goes from high school to the pros – or chooses a route playing college baseball for North Carolina – his high school career might be unmatched.
Reaching this next opportunity unfolded, in part, because of an approach that extended beyond allowing raw talent and energy to define him.
“The biggest thing I’ve done (last) offseason is trying to quiet my mind and just calm everything down a little bit, and it has been working this year, and I hope to keep doing it,” Brannon said. “It was hard because I’m 100 percent go all the time. It’s pretty hard to rein the horse back, if you know what I mean.
“So doing that was difficult, but I feel I’m getting a better grasp of it, and so that’s important. It’s not something anybody else can do for me; you have to do it yourself and learn it yourself.”
Those lessons translated into team and personal success. As Randleman was on its way to a second consecutive Class 2-A state championship, Brannon set single-season state records for hits (70) and runs batted in (91) and tied the mark for home runs (20) in 34 games.
Batting in the No. 3 spot in a lineup jammed with college prospects, Brannon became the focal point. In the field, he was behind the plate for a pitching staff that routinely dealt shutouts.
That was an ideal composition for coach Jake Smith.
“He’s a great leader. He’s an even-keeled guy,” Smith said. “He’s a mentally tough kid. He doesn’t get too high, doesn’t get too low. He understands the game well as far as knowing that failure is going to come. He understands that you can’t do anything about it. Just move on to the next at-bat.”
Brannon said he found the right mix.
“I guess I know when to ramp it up and when to draw it back a little bit,” he said. “Learning that was important. I try to be a leader for the guys and a leader for the team and hope I’m doing a good job. I think I’m doing a good job.”
In what became his final prep game, he went to the plate in Randleman’s 12-5 victory against Whiteville in the top of the seventh inning last month. He drove a ball to deep right-center field for a flyout at Burlington Athletic Stadium.
Then he trotted back to the dugout following his last high school at-bat, though he said he didn’t comprehend what was happening with the ensuing ovation, which seemed to be an acknowledgment of his record-setting season and stellar career.
A night earlier in Game 1 of the state finals, Brannon ripped a second-inning single to set the single-season state record for hits. Smith retrieved the ball.
“He deserves it,” the coach said. “It’s something special.”
With each accomplishment, his teammates seemed to take increasing joy.
“He’s the most humble guy I know,” second baseman Kaden Ethier said.
For pitcher Drake Purvis, who just finished his sophomore season and is committed to North Carolina State, Brannon provided a reassuring presence and ideal example.
“Brooks has always been like that,” Purvis said. “He wants to be the best. He’ll calm everything down.”
Brannon enrolled for summer classes last month at North Carolina as he awaits the draft. His prospects range somewhere within the first five rounds. So Smith’s message was to cherish those final months of the high school season.
“He needs to relax and enjoy it because probably after this, it’s a little different,” Smith said. “It turns into his job. I think he’ll get drafted high enough where he’s going to have to make a decision.”
They’re watching
By last October, in a showcase event in Jupiter, Fla., it was clear that Brannon had caught the attention of just about every major-league organization.
That resulted in a steady stream of scouts showing up at Randleman games this season.
“It’s a lot of pressure every time you go out there; there’s all of that,” said Paul Brannon, his father.
The younger Brannon knew the scouts had eyes fixed on him. He deflected that on game nights.
“It hasn’t affected me playing,” he said. “It hasn’t affected me mentally – and it shouldn’t. I’m just here to have fun. Here to have fun and play with my brothers one last time.”
Pro prospect Brooks Brannon was a mainstay behind the plate as Randleman’s catcher. (PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD)
His teammates appreciated how he’s unfazed.
“He doesn’t feel the pressure,” senior pitcher Ryan White said. “He’s calm, cool, collected. He does his job. He’s just out there to do what he can do to help the team win.”
Scouts usually gathered behind the backstop, often ending up down the first-base line for a vantage point on the right-handed batter. They’ve gone through this drill before, perhaps a few decades ago at Kings Mountain.
“A lot of scouts who scouted me in high school are scouting him,” Paul Brannon said.
Brooks Brannon kept doing his thing, no matter who was watching.
“To me, that’s the most impressive thing — you’ve got numerous scouts out here every night just watching him. He’s a 17-year-old kid out there,” Smith said earlier this spring. “That’s a lot of pressure. He doesn’t let it get to him. He enjoys it. I think he understands; he’s not playing for them. They’re here to watch him.”
At a certain point, amid the lineup of big-bashing Tigers, this all seemed normal to Brannon.
“Just trying to see it and hit it right now. Nothing too crazy,” he said. “I’m just trying to stay unconscious and keep hitting. I’m not really thinking about anything. I’m just seeing the ball and hitting the ball.”
There already was a Brannon in the state record books — Paul Brannon. He held the North Carolina single-season record for home runs with 20 in 1989 for Kings Mountain.
The specifics of the record pursuit weren’t discussed much.
“I call it chasing the ghost,” Paul Brannon said, “and I was the ghost.”
When the record-tying homer sailed over the fence in the opening game of the Class 2-A regional finals against visiting Community School of Davidson, it came with quite a response.
“(People) were talking about when it happened, he jumped out of his seat with both hands, and he ran down the steps,” the catcher said of his father. “I haven’t ever seen him run. Seeing him happy, it just made my night.”
While the home run standard is certainly a topic that’s connected to family, the RBI mark has a special place.
“The RBI record is a team record,” Brannon said. “So I think my guys who scored should have their name up there just as (much) as mine. Driving in runs is the name of the game. More runs equals more wins, so I think that record means more than the home run record.”
Power production
Brannon has a 220-pound frame, seemingly made for a catcher.
Regardless of hitting home runs at a rapid rate, Brannon refuses to make it complicated.
“I’m hitting it where they’re pitching it, I guess. I don’t know how else to describe it,” he said. “I’ve always had power. I was always really, really strong for my age. Just the refined approach, I don’t have to muscle up to hit the ball. If I just stay smooth and I stick to my approach, I’ll hit it. I figured that when I stay loose, I’ll hit it a lot farther than when I try to hit it far.”
So, where does this power stem from?
“My butt, my legs,” he said. “I feel like I’m a pretty big kid, and most of my weight is down there, and that’s where I generate most of my power. Hip rotation.”
Third baseman Hunter Atkins batted a spot in front of Brannon in Randleman’s order. He often was on base with the slugger at the plate.
“You’ve just got to be ready for it,” Atkins said. “You’ve got to keep your feet going because he hits the ball so hard. You’ve got to read the ball as hard as he hits it. Line shots, that’s what he does best. The way the ball jumps off the bat.”
Atkins also benefited from taking a slower pace around the bases after Brannon deposited balls over fences. He marvels at the source of the power.
“His legs, for sure. His legs and his hips,” Atkins said. “A big factor in baseball is your legs. If I’d have them legs, I’d love it. Definitely his legs, and his hands.”
When reference was made to an outdated roster listing him at 190 pounds, Brannon smiled.
“Maybe like freshman year,” he said. “Not now; I’m a little bit heavier now.”
Probably wiser, too.
It was no secret that Brannon had developed talents to put him on major-college scouting radars and eventually on pro scouts’ must-see lists. Then other parts fell into place.
“He has always had the skill set as far as physical ability, but he has learned a lot,” said Trey Cooper, a former Randleman teammate and now a Division I pitcher. “You can tell; now he has the IQ behind the plate.”
It was clear through the 2022 season that Brannon’s preferred topic was the Tigers and not individual accolades coming from all directions.
“It’s just a great way to cap off senior year,” he said. “I’m just happy that we won a state championship. I’m OK with the fact that I did what I needed to do to help my team win. Records or not, I did what I needed to do to help us win.”
That might be an understatement.
“He’s just special. He’s a special kid,” Smith said. “He deserves everything he gets because he works so hard, and he does the right things. I’m happy for him, excited for his future.”
Williams completed a well-rounded high school career with all-conference recognition in two sports as a senior.
Williams landed on the All-Piedmont Athletic Conference teams in men’s soccer and tennis. He also was one of the Warriors’ top players in men’s basketball.
In soccer, the midfielder led Wheatmore with 35 goals (with eight goals, the nest-best total on the team). He tied for second on the team with four assists across the 18 games as the Warriors posted a 9-9 record.
On the basketball court, he rated second on the team with 8.3 points per game and led the Warriors with 2.6 assists per game.
He had another strong season in tennis, holding the No. 1 singles spot for Wheatmore and compiling a team-best 10-3 record in duals. At No. 1 doubles, he was part of a 9-3 record, teaming with Collin Burgess, Mac Berrier, and Bryan Williams at different times. Those results helped the Warriors to a second-place finish in the league.
He reached the state tournament in Class 2-A tennis for the second year in a row in singles.
Dalke, a senior, wrapped up his high school career by leading the Cougars with 20 runs batted in. He homered twice to lead the team in that category while playing in all 25 games.
In the field, Dalke was a third baseman and catcher. He played primarily behind the plate when an injury on the team necessitated that versatility.
Dalke was a linebacker for the school’s eight-win football team. He received All-Piedmont Athletic Conference honors for his role as one of the key contributors to the defense.
Khyland Hadley-Lindsay of Asheboro intends to play basketball in college. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Here’s where some members of the Class of 2022 intend on playing on college:
From Asheboro: Khyland Hadley-Lindsay and Tramir Martin are set to play basketball for Pfeiffer. Hadley-Lindsay was Asheboro’s starting quarterback for the football team.
Charles Perry IV decided to play football for Averett. Alexander Spruill is heading to Methodist to play football.
Boys’ soccer players Alex Cruz and Irving Velazquez-Luna will go to Carolina University in Winston-Salem.
From Eastern Randolph: Softball player Charlise Phillips selected Guilford College.
From Providence Grove: Edi Austin, a standout in softball, is going to Louisburg College, a two-year school.
Zane Caudle, who was the Player of the Year for the Piedmont Athletic Conference in boys’ basketball, is going to Brevard.
From Randleman: Lineman Jann Ortiz is going to Guilford College for football.
From Southwestern Randolph: Payton Shiflet of the Class 2-A state championship volleyball team is going to Greensboro College. She was a conference Player of the Year or co-Player of the Year each of the past two season.
From Trinity: Michael Connelly announced that he would go to High Point to participate in track and field. He was the PAC champion in the 110-meter hurdles this year.
From Wheatmore: Baseball player Rylan Smith picked Guilford College.
Bryson Coltrane, also a wrestler and track and field participant, is slated to join the Catawba College football team. He’s a lineman.
Luke Thomas fires a pitch from the mound this spring. He’s planning to play college baseball. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
CLIMAX – Whatever the sport at Providence Grove, Luke Thomas had the ball in his hands.
Those were good hands for the Patriots.
“I like being in control of the game. I don’t like leaning on other players,” Thomas said. “I like being the make-or-break type of guy.”
Thomas helped make Providence Grove relevant on just about every level during a high school career that turned out unmatched.
“A fixture not only in the football program but a fixture in the whole athletic program,” said Calvin Brown, the athletics director and football coach. “Pretty much everything that our athletic department has done for four years, on the male side, has revolved around Luke Thomas.”
The recognition extended beyond the Patriots. He’s the Male Athlete of the Year for the Piedmont Athletic Conference.
His impact came in various forms – from the quarterback who was the PAC’s Offensive Player of the Year in football, a starting guard on the school’s PAC regular-season champion basketball team, and the lead-off batter and starting pitcher for the baseball team.
Aside from statistics and accolades, it was clear Thomas was making a difference. You don’t have to investigate much to find the guy with the golden locks flowing out of the helmet or baseball cap.
“I haven’t cut it,” he said of the flow. “I’ve always liked it. When I first did it, nobody really had it. My grandma could find me on the field.”
Luke Thomas goes between Eastern Randolph defenders during a basketball game last winter. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
Thomas, 18, is heading to UNC Greensboro as a pitcher after this summer’s American Legion baseball season with Eastern Randolph Post 81.
To excel as a three-sport athlete was something that gave Thomas a sense of satisfaction, not to mention the team success that evolved.
The breakdown for Thomas goes like this: “The funnest sport to play is football because there’s nothing like it. … I had to work the hardest at basketball. My overall favorite is baseball.”
Even as the individual accolades piled up, Thomas seemed prone to brag on teammates.
“I’m confident, but I’m not cocky,” Thomas said. “You have to have a little swagger. I get a lot of hate sometimes when I go places. But that’s fine. That comes with doing a lot of things and trying to be good in sports. You know that coming in. That’s what we ask for.”
Check a postgame handshake line, and it’s often clear that Thomas receives doses of respect from the opponents.
It’s no surprise that he’s well-known around Randolph County. He has been doing this for quite some time.
Better be ready
In the third game of the 2018 football season, Providence Grove quarterback Andrew Poteat went out with a torn knee ligament. There weren’t many options for Brown.
“From that point, Luke was the guy,” he said. “We knew Luke was going to be good, and we also knew he was a freshman.”
Luke Thomas had a record-setting career as Providence Grove’s quarterback. He was the PAC’s top offensive player as a senior. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
There was no junior varsity team, so Thomas had been the varsity backup. Thomas said he wasn’t sure he was ready, and yet the circumstances dictated that he would be thrust into a key role.
“I got thrown into the fire, and it ended up working out for me,” he said.
That began a stretch when Thomas set every school passing record. By last fall, when he threw for 22 touchdowns, it took his career total to 55. He passed for more than 6,000 yards, even with the abbreviated 2021 spring season (replacing the nixed 2020 season).
“Each year, we put more and more on his shoulders, but he could handle that,” Brown said.
The Patriots have had eight-win records the past two full seasons. There was even a 2021 home game in the state playoffs.
“It’s unheard of,” Thomas said. “Providence Grove could barely get into a playoff game. We weren’t happy with the result. I had higher expectations for myself and my team. I’m glad I ended on that field.”
Yet so often, Thomas left that venue only to turn up at another the next day to play another sport.
Brown said he knew Thomas’ pursuit of baseball was important and marveled at how the morning after a football game that he would be on the way to play baseball.
“That says a lot about him to turn around the next day and go pitch because college coaches wanted to see him,” Brown said. “He was always up for those challenges. He always had that drive and competitiveness.”
For Thomas, it was a sense of pride in being a three-sport athlete and a difference-maker.
“Showing you can do all three and still get where you want to be,” Thomas said. “About every weekend (in the fall), I was playing baseball. I’d try to recover a little bit. That’s what I had to do because of my situation.
“That is not easy to do. It’s very hard on your body and mentally. You don’t always want to play Friday night and get up Saturday morning and go play baseball.”
So after dodging defenders and flinging the football around the field, those 7 a.m. wake-up moments and perhaps a two-hour drive were a grind.
“You’re not the most fresh that next day,” he said. “I can’t really complain about it.”
On days he didn’t pitch, he usually was slotted for another position in the field.
In basketball, Thomas was regarded as the Patriots’ best defender, which coach Wes Luther said was only a slim part of what made him so critical for the Patriots.
“My thing is defense. If I can bring that, they’re going to take care of the rest,” Thomas said of his teammates. “I can have a good night every once and a while. That’s not my job with this team. My job is to defend and take care of the ball.”
Yet he turned in a 24-point performance against Randleman in an overtime victory in the PAC Tournament.
He missed a few midseason basketball games because of a meniscus ailment and later wore a brace on his right knee. And even with hair tied up to keep it out of his eyes, it wasn’t difficult to identify one of the best athletes on the court.
Proud Patriots
Much of the influence for what seems like this nonstop success came from his father, Doug Thomas. A conversation about his achievements is bound to involve the father-son connection.
“I started being successful because I started working a lot harder, getting in the weight room,” Luke Thomas said. “Dad pushed me, just having support. Somebody to humble you and somebody to give you support when you need to be pulled up.”
The elder Thomas has been an assistant coach for the Providence Grove baseball team. Early on, he planted the idea that Providence Grove would be an ideal setting for notable accomplishments if coupled with the right work ethic.
There was no reason to look elsewhere, even if rosters at other schools often seemed to have changing personnel.
“I wanted to show people you could win doing it this way,” Luke Thomas said. “You could do it with your buddies and the kids you went to elementary school with. I like the way I did it. I showed people you could stay at your own school and be successful. I think that’s a big thing in high school. I like the underdog aspect of it.”
At times, Providence Grove might seem like an out-of-the-way rural school almost devoid of fanfare. That’s something that Thomas used as motivation.
“We get disrespected,” he said. “When you do it the right way, you’re not going to have the greatest seasons. When you have Randleman, Eastern (Randolph), Asheboro, Southwest (Randolph), they always overshine us, especially in publicity. Adding this (basketball title), finally gets us some.
“We like it here. We feed off that. That’s why I like being here.”
For the past few weeks, he has been one of the leading players for Post 81. It’s his first season with the team, though it didn’t take long for coach Nate Cockman to be thankful for that development.
“Getting Luke was huge,” Cockman said, listing many intangibles that Thomas’ presence provides and noting the boost for Post 81 in attracting such a well-regarded athlete.
Of course, the foundation for this came at Providence Grove.
By the time Thomas was a junior, his roles had been more defined in terms of leadership.
“I don’t have any regrets. I’m at peace,” he said. “The best part is probably the friends I made throughout playing these sports. You learn as you’re doing it, especially when you’re older. It got easier because people there you get to know and they care about you.”
There will be a shifting of gears when he arrives at UNCG. But that doesn’t mean he’ll be slowing down after this juggling act at Providence Grove.
“I’m glad I played three because it could only help me,” he said. “It will be nice to focus on one sport now.”
McDonald, a senior, wrapped up her high school career with a spot on the All-Piedmont Conference girls’ soccer team. McDonald was a goalkeeper for the Bulldogs. She also was a starter on the Trinity girls’ basketball team. McDonald ranked in the top three in many of Trinity’s basketball statistics.
Phetmixay had an undefeated season in dual competition in singles and doubles for Uwharrie Charter Academy.
Phetmixay joined with classmate Drew Auman to finish as the Class 1-A state runners-up in doubles.
Phetmixay played No. 1 singles for the Eagles, who were unbeaten duals in the regular season and finished with a 12-1 overall team record.
Phetmixay received an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy and will head to Colorado Springs, Colo. As a junior, he was one of five UCA students to become a professionally licensed drone pilot.
Phetmixay also was a member of the soccer team at UCA. He was credited with five goals as a senior.
McClain completed the season with a team-leading .597 batting average for the Patriots, who were undefeated into the fourth round of the Class 2-A state playoffs.
She also was tops on the team with 11 home runs, 41 runs batted in and 34 runs scored for the team that ended up with a 24-1 record for the Piedmont Athletic Conference champions. She also had eight doubles and three triples to go with 14 stolen bases.
McClain, a senior infielder, was a four-year member of the Providence Grove team. She’s regarded as one of the program’s top players of all-time.
McClain is a Campbell signee. Campbell posted a 37-19 record in 2022 and played in the NCAA Tournament for the second year in a row.
She also spent some time during high school on the basketball team.
Asheboro’s Arianna Lovingood-Smith’s makes an attempt in the high jump during the Class 3-A state championships last month at North Carolina A&T. (PJ Ward-Brown/Randolph Record)
There was plenty to digest for spring prep sports involving Randolph County teams in addition to Wheatmore’s girls’ soccer team and Randleman’s baseball team winning Class 2-A state championships.
Those accomplishments were certainly among the highlights, but other developments deserve certain attention as well.
Blue Comets jump ahead
Asheboro’s girls’ track and field team won the program’s first conference championship by capturing the Mid-Piedmont Conference title.
“We’ve had some good talent come through, but not spread out enough,” said coach Blake Brewer. “We never had a team this well-rounded.”
The Blue Comets churned out this championship in the Class 3-A league with only 17 participants.
Brewer said the elite runners and jumpers on the team were able to gobble up enough points to make up for shortcomings in some other areas.
That was led by senior Arianna Lovingood-Smith, who was named the Most Valuable Performer in field events in the league. She’ll take her talents to college at Charlotte, where she’s expected to be a member of the cheerleading squad.
Back for more
Multi-sport athletes are aplenty within the county, but a few of those turned in accomplishments that might have been a bit under the radar this spring because of their achievements in other sports in previous seasons.
Let’s take a look:
• Dominic Payne of Trinity is on the all-PAC teams for boys’ tennis and track and field this spring. That adds to his place on the all-conference teams in football and basketball earlier in the school year.
• Randleman’s Kylie Vaughan also doubled up with all-conference honors this spring, landing on the All-PAC lists for girls’ soccer and track and field.
• Providence Grove senior Zane Caudle placed fifth in the PAC Tournament for boys’ golf. He was the Player of the Year for boys’ basketball in the conference.
• Trinity’s David Makupson was the PAC champion in the 400 meters barely two months after becoming the Class 2-A state champion at 138 pounds in wrestling.
• Southwestern Randolph football and baseball standout Adam Cole made a venture to the track for late-season competitions and ended up the PAC and Midwest Region champion in the boys’ 100 meters.
• Asheboro golfer Salem Lee, who was fifth in the state last fall in Class 3-A, was the lone Blue Comet on the Mid-Piedmont Conference all-conference team for softball.
• Trinity’s Autumn Gentry, a junior who eclipsed the 1,000-point mark in her career for girls’ basketball, was an All-PAC selection in girls’ soccer.
• Uwharrie Charter Academy’s Jazmin Palma, who was a state runner-up in girls’ wrestling at 113 pounds, was picked to the All-PAC team for girls’ soccer. This came after last fall’s selection as Runner of the Year for PAC girls’ cross country.
• Providence Grove’s Luke Thomas (baseball) and Chase Whitaker (boys’ tennis) were on All-PAC teams this spring after they were the major award winners in football as the PAC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. They were both on the PAC regular-season champion boys’ basketball team, with Whitaker an all-league pick.
• Eastern Randolph’s Brecken Snotherly placed third in the 1,600 meters and seventh in the 3,000 in the Class 1-A state meet. She was the school’s lone representative on the All-PAC girls’ basketball team.
• Southwestern Randolph’s Josie Allred placed second in the high jump in Class 2-A track and field after being an all-league pick for the Cougars’ Class 2-A state champion volleyball team in the fall.
• Randleman’s Chris Gentry was a state qualifier in boys’ track and field after landing on the All-PAC team for football.
