The Troy to Wadley baseball pipeline is alive and well.

Pike Liberal Arts star Brian Adams inked a baseball scholarship with Southern Union State Community College Tuesday morning, becoming the fourth Troy native to do so in the last two years.

Adams, a two-time All-Area player and finalist in the 2014 Athlete of the Year, said playing baseball at the collegiate level was childhood dream.

“I have always wanted to play baseball as long as I could,” Adams. “When I was little, I wanted to play all the time. I am just really happy and humbled to have this opportunity to keep playing baseball. It is a dream come true.”

Adams patrolled the outfield for the Patriots during his impressive four-year career in red, white and blue. As a senior, Adams batted .325 with three home runs and 26 RBIs. In the field, Adams led Pike Liberal starters with .949 fielding percentage. In 39 total chances, Adams committed just two errors.

Former Pike Liberal Arts head coach Butch Austin said Adams would be a great player at the next level.

“Southern Union is getting a good one,” Austin said. “Brian is a really good ball player and really great boy. He works hard and has put in a lot of time to get better. I am really proud for him, and happy for Southern Union.”

Adams joins former Charles Henderson stars Joey Denison, Tripp Blackmon and Hunter Baggett at Southern Union.

Adams grew up playing recreation baseball with the trio of former Trojans and feels having familiar faces around will help the transition from high school to college.

“Hunter is a good friend of mine, and will be my roommate up there,” Adams said. “All of those guys are great baseball players and I look forward to playing with them again. It will be a lot of fun and we can push each other to get better.”

Southern Union head Joe Jordan, known in baseball circles as “Jabo,” said Troy is a talent rich part of the state of Alabama.

“We have had a lot of success with players from Troy in the past,” Jordan said. “They grew up learning how to play the game the right way here. Coach Butch did a great job here and Coach Irons at Charles Henderson is a fantastic coach. Bobby Pierce and Mark Smartt do an amazing job at Troy and have some of the best baseball camps around. Having coaches like that teach these players growing up makes our job easy. We just put them out there and play.”

Adams will see time in all three outfield positions during his time at Southern Union, and, per Jacobs, may even be slotted in the designated hitter position.

Jacobs likes players that can play multiple positions, and says Adams fits that bill.

“Players like Brian give you options,” Jacobs said. “You can put him in the field and have his bat in the lineup; or if we need to make some moves, he can be a DH or a bench player. He can play a lot of spots and help us in a lot of ways.”

Adams feels he can be an everyday starter for the Bison, like he has been for Pike in each of the last three years. However, he just wants the opportunity to compete.

“I know what it takes to be good,” Adams said. “It takes hard work every single day. I don’t care where the put me, I just want to help the team in whatever way I can. It is not about me. Baseball is a team thing.”