CLEVELAND, Tenn.-Former Lee University pitcher Alan Zhang Carter is a perfect example of a talented athlete faced with more than his share of adversity but refusing to call it quits on reaching his dream of someday playing professional baseball.
This past week Zhang Carter inked a contract to begin his professional career with the Los Angles Angels. "The last couple of days have basically felt like a dream that I am hoping to not wake up from," he confessed in a conversation after the signing. "It has been very fulfilling to know that it was worth pushing through all the failures and bad times to get to this moment. I am looking forward to learning as much as possible about the professional side of the game, move up in the system as quick as possible, and possibly get a picture with Shohei Ohtani (Angel superstar).
"Lee has been the most important part of my baseball journey far in terms of how the coaches and players have developed me as a pitcher and as a person, which has put me in this position to start my professional career. I will always be thankful for Lee University, my teammates, and coaches for that."
Zhang Carter's story of battling back is certainly an understatement. His outstanding pitching career began at Duluth High School (Georgia) where he set a school record, striking out 78 batters over 62 innings during his senior year. Alan accepted a scholarship offer from Columbus State University (Georgia) knowing it was loaded with a senior pitching staff and he was not going to get much mound time, so he decided to redshirt his first year.
The following year Alan encountered his first real adversity and it would continue. Over the next three seasons the hard-throwing 6-foot-3 right-handed pitcher had invested three years at Columbus State and had only pitched 16 innings. He decided to transfer and quickly turned his college career around with Coach Mark Brew and the Lee University Flames.
COVID shortened the 2020 season after Alan had worked hard and earned a weekend starting role. He finished the year with a 2-0 record with 22 strikeouts. "When COVID hit my pitching velocity was around 88-91mph," he remembered. "During the quarantine I had a good opportunity to really work hard and make some strides. I worked six days a week, eating more than I ever had and working on mechanical adjustments. I put on 20 pounds of muscle and came back to Lee at 205 pounds."
The 2021 season came, and the hurler was clocked at 98.6 mph. The Flames won the Gulf South Championship and qualified for the NCAA South Regional. He struck out 13 batters in 7.1 innings against Alabama Huntsville.
"I never thought I could do that," he admitted. "My top speed at Columbus was 88-91 mph. Now I was consistently throwing in the 94-96 range. Our regular season came, and I was so happy. I was having the most fun I ever had playing baseball."
Adversity hit Zhang Carter again after the 2021 season ended. He traveled to Wilmington, North Carolina to pitch summer ball for the Sharks. In his first outing with the team, he was throwing around 95-97 mph and the coach asked him if he could go another inning. "As soon as the ball left my hand, I felt a pain and it turned out to be a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament in the right elbow," as he recalled the painful moment.
Tommy John surgery followed, and the big, strong right-hander wondered if he would ever pitch again. After the long rehab process ended, the Lee pitching staff did not rush Carter back to the mound.
When his time came late in the 2022 season, his fastball was electric, and the Flames claimed the GSC Tournament Championship for the first time and advanced to the NCAA South Regional for the second straight year. In 17 innings as the Lee closer, Alan fanned 34 hitters. During his career for the Flames, he had 105 strikeouts over 63 innings and finished with a 10-1 overall record.
Zhang Carter becomes the 36th baseball player to get drafted or sign an MLB free agent deal, according to Coach Brew. "Alan has worked extremely hard for this opportunity," said the proud the coach. "He had adversity with an injury that took a part of his senior season away and I have never witnessed someone rehab as hard as he did to make a comeback and be a big part of our conference tournament championship and second consecutive trip to the NCAA Regional. He has never stopped pursuing his dream to pitch professionally. He went out over the summer and threw great in the newly established MLB Draft League.
"His name wasn't called in July during the MLB draft, but he continued to train and recently threw in front of several pro teams and had numerous opportunities after that performance. He is a tremendous young man and we are excited to follow his progress with the Angels organization."
