CHAPEL HILL — Beyond the scholarship spotlight, former Southern Wayne baseball standout Alex Ferrell is a testament to the unwavering pursuit of a dream, even when the odds were stacked against him.

A lifelong University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fan, Ferrell jumped at the opportunity to attend a baseball camp with the Tar Heels last year and compete for a roster spot.

“Coming out of high school, I had some Division II offers, or I could have gone to a junior college,” Ferrell said. “Education has always been prevalent in my life, and going to a school like Carolina has always been a dream of mine, and setting myself up for success with a job in the future. I grew up a Carolina fan, and I went to a camp (last year,) and they said they would give me a shot, I jumped on it. It was almost a dream come true I guess, an ideal situation.”

Ferrell grew up attending sporting events in Chapel Hill with his family, and his cousin Mary Elliot McCabe played for
the women’s soccer team at Carolina.

An Exercise Physiology major, every day on campus in Chapel Hill feels like the realization of a dream for Ferrell.

“I’ve been coming to basketball games and football games here at Carolina,” Ferrell said. “My cousin played soccer here at Carolina, and we would come visit her and come to her soccer games. I try to remind myself everyday of how lucky I am to be in the position that I’m in. It’s an every day thing, even when I’m not on the baseball field, our culture is special, it’s unlike anything I’ve ever been around when it comes to athletics. It’s just something I enjoy being a part of every day, whether it’s on the field learning from older guys, or off the field, just going to get dinner, that kind of thing.”

The chance to learn from a Tar Heels coaching staff that has experienced college baseball’s grandest stage at the College World Series in Omaha, is one Ferrell has relished.

“There’s a large learning curve,” Ferrell said. “Just different things about the game, different ways to control my body, control the things I do, my actions, and really just take a step back and watch guys who have been here a lot longer than me, and learn from them.”

Ferrelll was a two-time team captain of the baseball program at Southern Wayne, and a four-year member of the Saints’ varsity team.

He was a part of 46 wins, a three-time all-conference selection, and he was chosen as Southern Wayne’s Most Valuable Player following the 2023 season.

Ferrell finished his high school career with a .320 batting average, 10 home runs, 42 RBIs, and a .475 on-base percentage.

He also graduated first in his class at Southern Wayne, he was the President of Southern Wayne’s National Honor Society as a senior, and Ferrell was also an Eagle Scout.

“Alex had great work ethic, constant dedication and a desire to play the game,” Southern Wayne head coach Trae McKee said. “He had great character on and off the field and in and out of the classroom. You can’t get to Chapel Hill without great grades obviously, but he kept a high standard of excellence for himself in everything that he does.”

Ferrell’s journey to Chapel Hill serves as a full circle endeavor for McKee and Southern Wayne’s program.

Former highly touted Saints’ outfielder Kevin Wise had been awarded a full baseball scholarship to Carolina prior to his senior season at Southern Wayne.

A three-year varsity starter, Wise passed away in his sleep on Feb. 18, 2012, the night before the Saints were scheduled to have their first practice of the season.

He was just 17.

“We did have the opportunity with Kevin to represent Southern Wayne at Carolina and Kevin was the highly touted recruit even in his junior year, and obviously that didn’t come to fruition,” McKee said. “I think that Southern Wayne couldn’t ask for a better representative of our program or of Kevin, of what work ethic is all about. Alex is a first class young man, and he’s very goal driven and he’s going to do whatever it takes to get straight A’s and to be there.”

Perhaps no one was better suited to give Ferrell advice on life as a student-athlete in Chapel Hill than Wayne County American Post 11 head coach Adam Pate.

A former baseball standout at Charles B. Aycock and former Tar Heels’ outfielder, Pate coached Ferrell with Post 11 in the summer of 2023.

Post 11 finished 31-9 that summer and was the North Carolina American Legion state runner-up.

Ferrell joins a long list of Post 11 products who have gone on to play college baseball.

“It’s obviously special any time anybody that you coach gets to play at the next level, especially when they go to your former school,” Pate said. “He’s one of the most special kids that I’ve had the pleasure of coaching just from his attitude and his mindset, and how good of a teammate he is. That will be valued more than anything with some of those guys at Carolina. There’s several guys from Post 11 playing Division I baseball right now, those guys set a precedent, and Alex does the same thing. he’s worked really hard, he’s not expected anything, and just kept working. Post 11 has really played some tough competition the last several years, and it’s really benefited those guys.”

The 19th-ranked Tar Heels (22-7, 6-6 ACC) host rival Duke in the second game of a three-game ACC series at 6 p.m. on Friday.