Dale Moser kept ticking off the names on his Thomasville Post 284 roster. There was one signed with Clemson. Another with UNC Charlotte. Another with N.C. State. Two more with Applalachian State.
Hold on a minute, coach. You're going to go undefeated with that bunch.
That notion evokes laughter from Moser, a good-natured guy who is in his third year at the helm of the team he created. Moser isn't about to claim anything, especially since his first two teams that also looked good on paper went bust. Some players on the roster ended up not playing. Others didn't finish the season.
This one might be different. In addition to all those future college players, Moser has a strong core of players from East Davidson and Ledford. The Ledford players include Jonathan Colyn, Matt Thorburn, Duke Boger, Scott Venable and Austin Stilley. The East players include Avery Bowles, Nathan Campbell, Brock Goodyear, Josh Craven and A.J. Holder.
It really does look like a stacked team.
It's also a different team in more ways than one. Because there is no American Legion baseball in Greensboro, Moser was able to add Northeast Guilford and Grimsley as two of his schools. He also has two players from Southwest Guilford and another from Wesleyan Christian. The Division I players come from this group. Northeast Guilford is a rival of Ledford in the Mid-Piedmont Conference and traditionally strong.
Deep playoff runs by Northeast Guilford and East Davidson may mean it takes a while for Thomasville to become whole.
"I think we'll have a good team," Moser said. "It will take some time to get everybody playing together."
The season opens Thursday when Thomasville hosts Lexington.
"We may only have 10 but we'll play," Moser said.
Moser is wisely not proclaiming a thing. Last year's team went 1-17 in Area III play despite what looked like a good roster. There were future college players on this team, too, like Tyler Lequire and Cody Beck. But the roster got mighty thin at times.
American Legion baseball can be a grind and it takes a strong commitment. Games are played nearly every night and they last nine innings. They are played when many kids would rather be at the beach. Sometimes that is too much to pass up.
Lexington Post 8 purposely creates a gap in its schedule for a beach break, when many graduating seniors head for the coast after getting their diplomas. That's a smart move on Lexington's part. There is the potential problem of losing momentum during the break, which happened to Lexington. It meant no playoffs for Post 8, either.
Whatever changes take place over the year, the good concept of American Legion baseball is timeless. Teams play for a community. In many cases, players who are archrivals during the high school season join forces in the summer. That is really cool.
So it all begins on Thursday. If Moser's roster is as good on the field as it is on paper, look out.
Mike Duprez can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 218 or mike.duprez@the-dispatch.com.