South Pointe baseball standout signs with Presbyterian

By Barry Byers - bbyers@heraldonline

South Pointe's Brad Zebedis grew up playing baseball, and like every young boy who plays the sport, getting to the Major Leagues always has been his goal.

Zebedis might not get that far, but that's the plan. He'll play his senior season this spring and head to college in August. On Tuesday at South Pointe's media center, Zebedis signed a grant-and-aid with Presbyterian College in Clinton.

He is on the honor roll and has a 4.9 GPA on a 5.0 scale. Zebedis made a 29 on the ACT test, which easily qualifies him for college.

“I haven't decided on a major yet, but I know if I don't get the chance to play pro ball, I want to coach,'' said Zebedis, the son of Frank and Michele Zebedis. “I started playing T-ball when I was 5 years old. I've been playing travel baseball with the Carolina Vipers since I was 12.

“The Presbyterian coaches saw me play at a Clemson camp last December. They invited me for a visit in January. I like the school because it's has a small teacher-to-student ratio. And I like the coaches and players I met. I felt it was the place for me.''

Presbyterian is a member of the Big South Conference, so Zebedis will be coming home when the Blue Hose play Winthrop. He also had offers from Appalachian State and Francis Marion.

Zebedis said he talked with Winthrop, but he didn't receive an offer to play there.

“It's going be great coming home and playing in front of my family and friends,'' he said. “I've thought about that, and we're going to beat Winthrop.''

“Don't beat Winthrop. Beat Coastal Carolina,'' said Jason Terry, his coach at South Pointe and a former Winthrop pitcher. Terry graduated in 2005.

Zebedis, 6-foot-0 and 225 pounds, said he was told by PC coach Elton Pollack that he would probably get opportunities to be a designated hitter his freshman season and a shot to compete for the catching job as a sophomore.

In the last two seasons, Zebedis has a .450 batting average, 16 doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBIs in 142 at-bats. He's struck out only 18 times.

“This is special for Brad and our baseball program,'' Terry said. “I knew he was going to be good because I heard about him when I was at Winthrop.

“I wish him well at the next level. He's a good player, and I'm glad we have him for another season. He will get a good education at PC and will do well playing college baseball.''