The 6-foot-4, 175-pound senior left-handed pitcher and first baseman had led the Wildcats to a 24-1 record and a berth in the Class 3A East Regional championship series at the time of his selection. Walston owned an 11-0 record with a 0.23 earned run average and 120 strikeouts in 61.2 innings pitched through 25 games. He had surrendered just 23 hits and issued 17 walks. Walston, who led New Hanover to the 2018 Class 3A state title, carried a .405 batting average with four doubles, 23 runs scored, 16 runs batted in and a .461 on-base percentage into the regional title series.
Walston has maintained a weighted 3.72 GPA in the classroom. He has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball on scholarship at North Carolina State University this fall, but is projected as an early round selection in June’s Major League Baseball draft.
Walston has volunteered locally with the Miracle League of Wilmington and the Special Olympics, and he has donated his time to multiple community service initiatives through his church youth group.
