03/28/2024
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It didn’t take West Bladen senior Nolan Bryant long to make up his mind about his college choice and Friday he made that decision public through the West Bladen Athletics twitter account. He will be playing baseball next season for the Methodist Monarchs in Fayetteville.

“He went up there for a visit and really liked it,” said Nolan’s dad, Jason Bryant. After that visit he really didn’t seem to be interested in going anywhere else.”

“I liked the campus. The layout and the way the buildings are all close together,” said Bryant. “ I met with Coach (Tom) Austin and a couple of the players and really liked them.”

Bryant was expecting to have a big senior season for the Knights but after he struck out 7 batters to pick up the victory in an 8-4 win at Red Springs, the season was halted by COVID-19 two days later.

“I really hate that their season was cut short after all the work and preparation that our seniors had put into it,” said Knight Coach John Ammons. “We were expecting Nolan to be our go-to pitcher this year. He had been one of our leaders for the past 2 years.”

About Nolan’s opportunities at Methodist, Ammons said, “I can see them using him as a utility guy. He played third base, right field, first base… everywhere for us. On the mound he has good stuff, and if he locates his pitches he will do well.”

Nolan is the son of Jason and Ashley Bryant of Bladenboro. “We are excited for him,” said Jason Bryant. “We hate to see him leave the nest, but Methodist is not that far away.”

‘I am excited and really looking forward to it,” said Nolan. “They are primarily looking at me as a pitcher, but Coach Austin said I might get a chance at third base too.”

Coach Austin’s Monarchs have won 22 conference championships and received 22 NCAA Division III Tournament berths in his 41 years at the helm. Methodist has played in 6 Division III World Series. Notable recent Monarch baseball alumni include West Bladen’s Mikey Inman and East Bladen’s Tripp Lancaster.

In the classroom Bryant intends to pursue a doctorate in physical therapy. In the meantime he has been able to throw some with his dad and shared that his pitching coach has indicated that he has been cleared to resume pitching lessons.

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