By: Cayden Acord
Sports Writer
On the baseball field, Wingate catcher Lane Rhodes focuses on framing pitches and getting the best results for his team.
Off the field, he uses an open-minded approach to constantly improve himself on a personal level and adapt to new things that life may throw his way.
“Stereotypical catchers are often taught to catch the ball and stick it in the same spot, but the new wave of catchers use the momentum of the ball to make it look like they are catching it in the center of our body,” Rhodes said. “I think now with new things and advances in technology you can never stay stagnant and you always have to be looking for techniques to give you the upper hand.”
Rhodes, a native of Fuquay-Varina, N.C., played multiple sports at a young age such as baseball, football, basketball, BMX biking and even water skiing. He started playing baseball at eight years old and has been doing so ever since. It was the lone sport he stuck with out of the many that he played growing up, with the reasons being skill level and overall enjoyment of playing.
The former Cal Ripken World Series champion also won a state championship during his time at Fuquay-Varina High School. The Bengals took down Ardrey Kell High School to win their second-ever 4A state title in 2018.
“That kid is tough as nails,” Fuquay-Varina head coach Zach Boraski told HighSchoolOT.com after his team won the title. “Everybody, including him, stepped up.” Rhodes calls that clinching moment his favorite memory on a baseball field to date.
He says his favorite memories off the field are the nights when he and his friends and teammates hang out late into the night just talking about nothing. “There’s a special bond you share during those nights where you just chop it up for hours on end without a care in the world,” Rhodes said. “Getting to know everyone during those times is something I will never forget, and I still share those bonds today.”
Rhodes is studying communications at Wingate with hopes of working in the sports world when he graduates in 2025. He says he wants to be versatile and good at different aspects of the sports media world, with hopes that it will open up more opportunities. He is already well on his way, writing articles and weekly beat reports that are well-received by his professors.
However, he would “obviously” take the opportunity to go pro if it presented itself. The 6-1, 190-pound junior originally signed with UNC Greensboro in 2019 before transferring to play at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory prior to moving on to Wingate last year.
He is now gearing up for his second season behind the plate for the Bulldogs and has high hopes to build off of a 32-18 record from last year when he started 28 games with a .261 batting average, 8 RBIs and a .986 fielding percentage.
After not reaching a regional and falling just short of the South Atlantic Conference championship, Wingate will look to take a step up and accomplish both of those goals in 2024.
When asked why he came to Wingate, Rhodes says there were multiple reasons why it was the perfect fit: a starting job at catcher, the tight-knit “small-town” feel of the school and WU’s proximity to his home. Fuquay-Varina is about two hours away, which makes going home for breaks easy.
His favorite thing about the school is the spirit the students and faculty show toward the team. “The turnouts at games are always awesome and you can tell that everyone cares,” Rhodes said.
During his free time, Rhodes enjoys watching TV and supporting his favorite sports teams. He is a big Atlanta Braves fan who enjoyed watching former Texas Rangers star outfielder Josh Hamilton when he was younger because Hamilton is also from Fuquay-Varina.
Now, Rhodes says Braves outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. is his favorite player and watching him consistently perform at the highest level is something that he enjoys both as a fan of the game and as a Braves fan.
Rhodes says that the most important thing his parents ever taught him was that nothing would be handed to you and you have to work for everything you want. Staying patient and calm is the key, and he says good things come to those who wait. This applies everywhere for Rhodes, both on and off the field.
Framing pitches behind the plate and creating a frame for the life he wants to live are his main focuses, and Rhodes knows he has what it takes to be an elite catcher while also evolving as a person off the field. He is looking forward to the future, both behind the mask and in the media world.
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