The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Baseball Signs Tanner Graham
11/14/2014 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Tanner Graham of Killen, Ala. has signed with the UAB baseball team for the 2016 season, head coach Brian Shoop announced on Friday. Graham is the third player to sign with the squad, joining Carter Pharis and Garrett Whitlock.
"Coach Roth was the first one to see Tanner when he pitched this summer at the WWBA Perfect Game National Championship in Atlanta," Shoop said. "Tanner immediately jumped ahead of literally hundreds of pitchers we had seen in the past year. He was an in-state player that we liked as well as anyone we had seen. When Tanner and his parents came for a campus visit there was an instant connection. We loved him as a young man and we loved his family. It is such a joy when you find a young man that loves UAB and what is happening at this amazing institution."
Graham has been a starting pitcher for the Brooks High School Lions since the eighth grade and has been a part of two Class 4A State Runner-Up teams. He has compiled a 27-7 record with over 200 strikeouts and tossed one combined perfect game and one complete-game no hitter.
"Tanner has pitched for coach Todd Nelms at Brooks HS and has been an impact player for the last four years," Shoop said. "What we see in Tanner is a talented and successful high school athlete that will only continue to get better in college. We picture Tanner winning a lot of games for the UAB Blazers."
He was selected a Times Daily First Team All-Area Utility player in 2014 with a .401 batting average, 20 doubles, .486 OBP, 44 RBI and an 8-2 record on the mound with a 1.13 ERA. He was also named an All-Tennessee Valley Honorable Mention outfielder in 2014 and garnered Perfect Game Preseason All-Region and All-America Honorable Mention honors.
"We feel the combination of Tanner and signee Garrett Whitlock will give us two weekend starters in the same signing class," Shoop added. "He will be the rare pitcher that combines a power arm with great command of the strike zone as well. We think his future is unlimited."
He was named a Times Daily First Team All-Area Pitcher in 2013 with an 11-1 record and earned honorable mention accolades a year before. Also in 2012, he was selected as a TravelBallSelect.com All-American and USSSA First Team All-American.
Off the field, Graham has been a member of the National Honor Society since the seventh grade with a cumulative 4.0 GPA. He also represented his school at Boys State this summer.
"Tanner is another great student who has never made a B in high school. With his hopes to major in sports medicine, UAB is the perfect school to prepare Tanner for his future in medicine.
"We are so pleased that Tanner Graham has decided to play his college baseball at UAB and can't wait to get him on the mound at Regions Field and Young Memorial Field."
For more information on the UAB baseball team, follow the Blazers on Twitter (@UAB_Baseball). For more on all Blazer sports teams follow the official Twitter account of UAB Athletics (@UABAthletics).
