Davidson County natives Chris Villaman, Brody McCullough selected in 2022 MLB Draft

Two Davidson County pitchers were chosen on the second day of the 2022 MLB Draft on Monday, with Chris Villaman taken in the ninth round by the Tampa Bay Rays and Brody McCullough picked by the Chicago Cubs in Round 10.

While their destination of professional baseball is the same, their paths have been wildly contrasting.

McCullough, taken at No. 293 overall, graduated from tiny Sheets Memorial Christian in Lexington before going on to blossom as a two-time Division II All-American at Wingate.

“It’s definitely been a different type of journey than most would take, I guess,” McCullough said. “But I wouldn't trade it for anything. It’s awesome to come from such a small school, go to Wingate, which was obviously a great experience for the team as well as myself, individually.”

Wingate won the 2021 Division II national championship.

Villaman, the No. 284 overall MLB Draft selection, was a star from day one as a hard-throwing left-hander at Ledford, where he helped the Panthers reach the 2-A state championship series in 2018. He just completed his redshirt junior season at NC State where he was 3-3 with a 3.40 ERA and 11 saves while striking out 85 in 55⅔ innings.

And then he got the call.

“It’s great,” Villaman said. “I think the organization will help me in the future.”

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McCullough, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound right-hander, pitched in relative obscurity for Sheets, which has about 70 kids at the high school level. The questions about that level of competition were always there but McCullough also played travel ball, which helped his exposure.

At the same time, there was no doubt as to his talent. McCullough nearly transferred to North Davidson, where he would have started in both baseball and basketball.

There was no shortage of suitors for his services at the next level.

“Brody had 13 college offers and five of them were Division I,” said Shane McCullough, Brody’s father and high school coach. “He wanted to go to a place where he could win a championship. ... And he did.”

By the time he was a senior, Villaman was being followed by scouts, scores of which appeared at all of his games.

But, surprisingly, Villaman went undrafted. He was an early commit to NC State and went to Raleigh to pursue his college career.

He got better. The biggest reason?

“Maturity,” Villaman said. “I learned how to pitch, how to pitch to batters’ weaknesses, stuff like that.”

All of that puts a smile on the face of Chris Adams, the new South Davidson principal who was Villaman’s coach at Ledford.

“He’s worked hard,” Adams said. “He’s put the time and effort in. It's been fun to watch him in some big ACC games the last two years.”

Villaman is the third Ledford pitcher coached by Adams to be drafted. Justin Livengood spent three seasons in the Padres’ organization and Michael Horrell is in his third season with the Houston Astros’ organization. Horrell is currently with the Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks.

McCullough and Villaman still have college eligibility. McCullough was a senior who had an extra year remaining due to COVID.

But his decision wasn’t really much of one. McCullough was to board a plane the next day for Scottsdale, Arizona, to play for the Cubs’ Rookie League team. He did first consult with the Wingate staff.

“Me and the coaching staff kind of talked and we felt this was going to be a good time for me to go if I got the opportunity,” McCullough said. “I’ll be spending the rest of the summer in Arizona.”

Looking a little ahead into the near future, the Cubs’ Low-A team is in Myrtle Beach and McCullough could eventually play for the Pelicans.

“That would be really nice,” he said.

Villaman has more of a decision to make. He still has two years of eligibility and some scouts feel he could gain more by staying at NC State.

“I’ve got to talk to my family and stuff,” Villaman said. “We will see.”

Adams believes his former player will continue to progress whether it's in pro baseball this summer or more college ball with the Wolfpack.

“I don’t think there’s anything he won’t be ready for,” Adams said. “He's gotten bigger and stronger. I still think he’s got a lot of potential.”

This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Davidson County's Chris Villaman, Brody McCullough picked in MLB Draft