BARNESVILLE — It didn’t take Alex Meade many college visits to know where he wanted to continue his academic and baseball careers.

It was during a baseball trip — as a young player — to Myrtle Beach that Meade found what he hoped to be his future college home.

Now, the dream is becoming a reality.

Meade will continue his baseball career at Coastal Carolina, which is located in Conway, S.C., as a walk on for a Chanticleer program which won the 2016 College World Series.

Coastal Carolina isn’t necessarily a common place that many Ohio Valley products have landed for athletics or academics, but it became clear early that Meade — if given the opportunity — wanted to make his way south.

“When I was young, I knew I wanted to go far (away) for college and I came across (Coastal Carolina) through baseball and as soon as I stepped foot on the campus, I knew it was the place for me.”

On the baseball side, Meade expects to get a look as a pitcher. The righty finished his prep career with an 8-2 record. He also recorded a safe. He struck out 76 in 59.1 innings of work. He had a 3.42 earned run average.

“I have good movement and velocity (on my pitches),” Meade said. “But, there’s always room to get better. It will take a lot of hard work and training to play Division I ball.”

When Meade wasn’t on the mound, he was in the Shamrocks every day lineup. He was a .314 career hitter for Coach D.J. Butler’s team. He drove in 44 runs and hit three home runs.

“Alex had a break-out (season) on the mound as a sophomore and replicated that production offensively in 2019, so I was looking forward to him having a phenomenal season. Many may question his ability as a walk-on at a school like Coastal, and it will be an up-hill battle, but over the last four years, I’ve learned to never doubt Alex.”

Meade becomes the fourth member of the Class of 2020 to cast his college lot with an expectation of playing baseball. That core is a big part of the reason why — despite missing all of this season due to COVID-19’s shutdown of prep sports — the graduating seniors are the winningest class in BHS history.

“I think we will always wonder what we could have accomplished in 2020,” Meade said. “No matter what, though, I played the game I love with the very best teammates. I am beyond blessed.”

With much of the summer baseball season still crippled, Meade plans to simply workout, train and continue to hone his craft to prepare himself as much as possible for what lies ahead.

“I can only worry about the things I can control, and right now, that’s my reactions,” Meade said. “I am choosing to focus on the future.”

Meade’s fine play was recognized in 2019 when he was named the Shamrocks Most Valuable Player and his spot on the EOBL All-Star Squad.

Along with baseball, Meade was a multi-year standout for the Shamrocks football team and was a member of the ‘Varsity B’ Club.

Alex, who is the son of Rick and Kelly Meade, plans to major in Sports Exercise Science.