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Above: Wilmington Mayor Bill Saffo (center)
joined principal Laura Hunter (left), founding
member Judy Girard (right), and GLOW Academy
students for the groundbreaking ceremony. Left:
The school’s new campus (seen in a rendering) is
scheduled to open in the fall of 2019.
www.wrightsvillebeachmagazine.com WBM
In our July 2016 issue,
Wrightsville Beach Magazine did
a story about the Wilmington
Sharks called “Chasing the
Dream.” Two years later, one of
those players had his dreams
come true in a big way.
Alec Bohm, the third baseman
for the Sharks in 2016, was
the third-overall pick in Major
League Baseball’s amateur draft
on June 4, 2018. Bohm signed a
$5.85 million contract with the
Philadelphia Phillies. He’ll start
his career at the Class A level in
the minor leagues, and could be
in the majors within a couple of
seasons.
The Sharks are a summer
league team, made up of college
players who hope to play
professionally someday. The
odds are against them. Each
year, there are about 140,000
players eligible for the draft.
Only 1,500 are chosen.
Bohm, from Nebraska, was
asked about those odds when
he was interviewed for the story.
“I don’t think about that,” he
said in 2016. “All I can do is just
play the game and see what
happens.”
Bohm certainly looked like a
future pro during his one season
in Wilmington. He set franchise
records with 11 home runs and
51 RBI in 54 games.
“We knew he was something
special,” says Carson Bowen,
the Sharks’ director of baseball
operations. “That kid could
swing the bat.”
Ryan Jeffers, a catcher from
University of North Carolina
Wilmington who also played on
the 2016 team, was drafted in the
second round by the Minnesota
Twins. — Simon Gonzalez
etc.
Alec Bohm (left) was drafted third overall in the Major League
Baseball amateur draft after his junior year at Wichita State. He
set franchise records with 11 home runs and 51 RBI during the
2016 season with the Wilmington Sharks (above).
COURTESY OF WICHITA STATE ATHLETICS
WBM FILE PHOTO
PHOTOS COURTESY OF GLOW ACADEMY
FROM THE SHARKS TO THE PROS