By: Michael Wayne O’Neill
Sports Editor
The Wingate University baseball team will get many upgrades to their clubhouse facility before throwing the first pitch in 2024. The upgrades will be directed towards meeting the new needs of the program and additional locker room space.
“The big reason for building a larger locker room is to provide a really good space for our student-athletes,” head coach Jeff Gregory said, “The original locker room had only 34 lockers in it, and we were carrying a lot more than that number on our roster. The new space will be a much more functional space for all of our student-athletes.”
Players and staff will have more room to hold team meetings, review tape, and game preparations. Players can also use the space throughout the day.
In addition, the dugouts will be expanded to accommodate opponents and more bathrooms will be added. Plumbing for both dugouts is in process and should be completed by the end of October, according to Gregory.
Plumbing for the new locker room and bathroom is currently in the process of completion. The original locker rooms and bathrooms have been cleared out.
Senior infielder Dominic Byers said the additional locker rooms will also give them more room to store and lock their equipment.
“We just need a lot of our equipment in our own rooms, which is a little bit of an adjustment,” Byers said, “It’s just that we are keeping track of our own stuff now.”
Gregory expects the project to be complete by January 2024. Until then, he is pleased with his players’ off-season productivity.
The Bulldogs finished 32-18 overall and 18-6 in South Atlantic Conference play in 2023.
“I like how they have been working throughout our fall,” Gregory said, “We still have a ways to go with our fall practice, but I think we are progressing in the direction we want to be.”
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