Watauga’s Baseball Duke Commit, Evan Burroughs

Baseball Duke Commit senior Evan Burroughs, July 2024, LakePoint Atlanta at the PBR Championship. Photo Credits: Evan Burroughs

Sofia Peviani, Staff Writer for The Powderhorn

Evan Burroughs, a senior at Watauga High School, committed to playing Division 1 baseball at Duke University in July of 2025. But how does a student go from playing high school baseball for fun to being recruited by one of the top universities of the country?

“My earliest memory when I was younger was at the field with my dad where we used to practice together,” said Burroughs. "I started around 2014-2015. I used to play for more of a local team. After a while, I went to a different organization. That’s when it became more about setting me up for a future.”

When a hobby turns into an opportunity, it’s important to take full advantage. Through training and consistency, Burroughs was able to do just that. 

“You can’t just magically hit or throw a ball,” said Burroughs. "The amount of work my dad has spent with me for the past 13 years led up to this. You pretty much spend your whole summer traveling so a lot of sacrifices need to be made for that to happen.”

Despite having support and personal drive, the recruitment process is still an experience like no other. With close to 500,000 baseball players across the country according to NCAA only around 2.4% make it to D1.

“There are a lot of really good baseball players, so you have to maximize what you do well — Evan did that this summer,” said Watauga Baseball Coach Sean Burroughs. “He took advantage of the opportunities presented to him, and that culminated with an offer from Duke and a chance to compete at a really high level.”

According to FloBaseball, going D1 can be an amazing opportunity for athletes. The difference between D1 and D3 isn’t only the level of athletic commitment and intensity, it also has the most athletic scholarship available. In baseball, D1 teams currently get about 11.7 scholarships for about 35 players, meaning most get partial scholarships.

“He received a partial athletic scholarship at Duke,” said Coach Burroughs. “It all happened so quickly over the last month of summer baseball that I was kind of in shock.”

Baseball recruitment is unique in many aspects. Top recruits might be noticed as early as freshman or sophomore year. College recruits rarely rely on high school seasons however, making travel teams and showcase tournaments extremely important. 

“The recruitment process was definitely interesting. After my junior summer I had 5-6 schools interested, but those all fell through. My senior summer started slowly. I only had a D2 and small D1 offer,” said Evan Burroughs.“In July, things started going well, bigger schools reached out, and visits started happening. Ultimately in the end I went with Duke.”

Recruitment can be heavily influenced by stats and numbers such as spin rate and arm velocity, but for an athlete to get to that level, countless other factors come into play. 

“I’d say my mindset definitely separates me from others,” said Evan Burroughs. "I’m not the biggest or the strongest, but I’ve never doubted myself. Baseball is hard, but you always have to have enough confidence in yourself that you can keep competing.”

A good support system isn’t just “nice to have” when aiming for a collegiate level. It’s one of the core things that prevents athletes from burning out, losing confidence or getting swallowed up by the pressure of the game. D1 is a major accomplishment, but being able to play any level of college baseball is a feat less than 10% of the nation achieves. 

“There’s a reason scouts are there — the athlete has done something well. It’s more about playing at the next level than what division you commit to,” Coach Burroughs said. “There are many junior college and Division II and III athletes who end up at Division I schools after a year or two. Just being able to play at any level in college is a success story.”

Baseball is a mentally brutal sport. According to the Major League Baseball 2023 data the league’s batting average (percentage of balls hit) totaled to be .248, while Luis Arraez, one of the best contact hitters in baseball, hit .354. A bad practice, game, or week doesn’t define a career; knowing that prevents an athlete's motivation and aspirations from collapsing. 

“Failure is built into the game. You can’t be perfect. You have to learn to adapt and overcome that failure and just play the next play,” said Evan Burroughs.

For anyone who wants to play college baseball or any other sport, it’s easy to get in your head and crumble under pressure. The stats and odds are stacked and intimidating. But playing in college is a one-of-a-kind opportunity that will never come again. In any sport, putting in the work will get you results. Every early morning, extra rep, every moment you choose to improve sets you apart.

“There’s no secret sauce. Work really hard while being careful not to zap the joy out of the game. Stay patient, positive, and continue to work hard,” said Coach Burroughs. “Do what you love and enjoy each moment and season. When the time comes to play baseball, we’ll get to work.”