Clayton Parker, the former Boyd-Buchanan pitching ace, didn’t turn his back on baseball. He set it aside.
A former valedictorian at the school off North Moore Road, Parker had numerous college scholarship offers, including two from Alabama — one for academics and one for baseball. He signed a national letter of intent with the Crimson Tide but as a National Merit Scholar chose instead to accept an academic scholarship.
Buccaneers coach Josh Rider remembers Parker fondly, and that goes beyond the youngster’s .866 win percentage or his 1.14 earned run average.
“He was a kid you just knew that you could count on whether it was baseball or academics,” Rider said. “He has always been top of the line academically and in baseball, but he’s a great human being — incredible morals, the kind of guy you’d trust to be with your daughter.”
Parker, who also is a songwriter and an accomplished, self-taught musician, will graduate after three years in Tuscaloosa with a 4.0-plus grade point average with his eyes on medical school.