Injuries lead one of the state’s top prospects to Gaston College

Injuries oftentimes can alter an athlete's course.

Consider the case of Gaston College freshman infielder Brandon Crabtree.

One of North Carolina's top high school baseball prospects at Sanford's Grace Christian School for the Class of 2023, Crabtree was rated No. 37 overall in the state as he prepared to play at N.C. State of the ACC.

But injuries last fall kept him off the field for the Wolfpack and, in Crabtree's mind, "had a big impact of me."

It led Crabtree elsewhere and earlier this month, he was one of four players added to Gaston College roster for the 2024 spring semester.

Now on the Rhinos' baseball team, Crabtree is hopeful of showing off all the skills that made him such a highly-rated prospect. Just last weekend, he played a role in an offense that erupted for 39 runs in three-game series sweep of Guilford Tech.

At Grace Christian, he helped the Crusaders to a 63-9 overall record in three seasons with a N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association 1A runner-up finish in 2021, a 1A state title in 2022 and a Western 2A runner-up finish last season when he hit .613 with 13 home runs and 53 RBIs to earn first team Prep Baseball Report (PBR) all-state honors.

Crabtree admits he knew little about Gaston College during his initial recruiting process but his interaction with head coach Shohn Doty and assistant coaches Jacob Rand and K.J. McAllister in recent months convinced him a mid-year transfer was in his best interest.

After just a few practices, Crabtree said it was obvious to him why the program went 50-13 overall and won Region 10 and National Junior College Athletic Association district tournament titles to advance to the World Series in Grand Junction, Col.

"There's a lot of energy and people here are working hard every day," Crabtree said. "It's a great program with great facilities and everything else."

For the Rhinos, Crabtree will join a playing rotation that could see him at first base, third base and designated hitter.

"From what I've been told and seen, this is a great ball team with a lot of talent and energy," Crabtree said. "They've talked about making it to the World Series last year. That's our goal and, hopefully, we can do it again this year."

The Rhinos opened their 2024 season last weekend against Guilford Tech...................