Thompson said he is elated to be a part of the Talladega College baseball program.
“It is pretty exciting,” Thompson said. “I am ready for a new chapter in my life after two years at Calhoun (Community College). I am just ready for something new.
“I like it here at Talladega; I like the coach and it seems like a great place.”
Getting a chance to play for coach Ramos is the main reason Thompson signed with TC.
“The way he coaches is one of the reasons I wanted to come here and it feel like the right place for me,” Thompson said.
Last season, Thompson recorded 34 hits, which included four doubles. He also scored 19 runs and drove in 11 RBI’s.
“He is a gap to gap guy,” his dad, Jim Thompson said. “He has a lot of speed; he gets a lot of doubles and a lot of stolen bases. He also can drag a bunt to help out and get on base.”
Thompson said his two seasons at Calhoun didn’t go as well as he wanted, but he gained some life long friends.
“It was a good experience,” Thompson said. “It wasn’t what I thought it was going to be. I met some new friends and it was a good education.”
Ramos said he hopes Thompson can add protection for Gulf Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year Chase Benfield on the base pad.
“Will is a guy who came to the school for a few tryouts for us early in the year,” Ramos said. “The first tryout that we did he was hurt, so we didn’t see the speed that he has and his arm was hurt so we asked him to come back again.
“When he came back he did a very good job, he improved a lot. He can hit from the left side. We needed some body at the top of the order that hits from the left side. He is a guy that is going to help Chase (Benfield). He is going to be lead-off for us again. Last year, Chase had 12 stolen bases and one of the reason he had 12 is because we haven’t anyone behind him to protect him.”
Ramos said Thompson has the ability to be a great hitter and with work he has the chance to be a very good right fielder for the Tornadoes for the next two seasons.
“He will be the No. 2 hole in the line up,” Ramos said. “We hope he is going to be the guy that helps Chase steal more bases. He also has a good stick and good speed of his own.
“We are waiting for him to get here and improve in the things that we do so he can help the team tremendously from the offensive side. On the defensive side, he does have stuff that we need to improve on him: throwing, getting a better angle to the ball, but I think those are things that we can work on and get better.”
