Rising senior Baker to represent Russellville baseball at North-South All-Star game in July

When the Alabama High School Athletic Association hosts its annual All-Star Week this summer, July 15-19, taking the field and representing the Russellville High School baseball program will be Neyland Baker.

Baker, a rising senior at Russellville High School, was one of the 18 student-athletes selected to play for the North team in the North-South All-Star Baseball Game next month, announced Brandon Dean, Director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association, in a press release on May 20.

“It’s pretty cool, and I’m glad and blessed to be able to do it,” Baker said. “It made me feel a lot better about my game and what I can do. It honestly made me believe in myself a little bit more.

“I know myself I’ve worked my tail off for this. I’ll be honest and say that I didn’t expect to get it, but I feel like I can say that I’ve earned it.”

Being selected for the North-South All-Star Game, Russellville head coach Jess Smith said, signifies major respect among the coaches in the state.

“For your upcoming senior class, it's probably the highest honor you can receive in the state of Alabama,” he said. “For those who aren’t aware of the North-South All-Star Game, there’s a committee of coaches, 1A through 7A, that sit down and go through nominations, stats, records and the whole nine yards and compile the best of the best through all classifications, so to be picked is a huge honor. We certainly believe, 1000 percent, Neyland is deserving of that.”

Baker said being picked for the All-Star Game isn’t just a reflection of his game but of the Russellville baseball program, as well.

“At Russellville we stress the pursuit of excellence and doing well in everything we do and it’s paid off,” he said. 

Baker, a 2024 Franklin Free Press All-Franklin County First Team selection, was a regular starter and a major contributor for Russellville this past season. Helping the Golden Tigers to another area title and a second consecutive playoff quarterfinal appearance, Baker appeared in 37 games, batting .352 with a .478 on-base percentage. The junior finished the 2024 campaign with two home runs, 15 doubles, 22 runs scored, and 41 RBI in 105 at-bats.

“He was a huge part of our success this past season, especially offensively, and we know he’s deserving to be at the top of the rankings in the state of Alabama,” Smith said.

A mainstay in the designated hitter role, Baker also pitched for the Golden Tigers and can play first base. On the North roster, Baker is marked as a designated hitter and first baseman. Listed at six-foot-four and 285 lbs., Baker said people expect him to be limited in what he can do at the plate, but he takes pride in showing his versatility.

“Me being a bigger guy, most people expect me to pull the ball a lot more, but I can go backside a lot more than people usually think I can,” he said. “I can hit the ball to the backside to the right side of the field with power. I don’t think most would expect that from me. Then again, I can pull the ball when I have to or when I need to. I feel like it shows that I work on that outside pitch and hitting it to the backside.”

Smith said it isn’t just Baker’s size—he is also a standout offensive lineman for the Golden Tiger football team and is committed to play Division I football at North Alabama—that makes him stand out, but his athleticism, too. Baker is “an anomaly.”

“A six-foot-three, six-foot-four, 280-pound guy in our game, you just don’t see that in baseball very often,” he said. “But if you watch him play, you know he’s just an athlete. He’s a massive, strong guy and he is as advertised—the ball comes off his bat everyone in the stadium oohs and ahhs and they just marvel at it.

“He’s an athlete and he’s a workhorse and he’s one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever coached,” Smith added.

Also represented at the North-South All-Star Game are schools like Boaz and Arab—teams the Baker and the Golden Tigers typically have to contend with in the Class 5A playoffs—and bigger schools like Mountain Brook and Hewitt-Trussville. Baker will be playing with and against some of the best talent in the state, and he’s excited about the opportunity.

“Just being able to compete against some of the top guys in the state, that’s exciting,” he said. “I think it’s going to be a little bit of an eye-opener, but I feel like it’ll let me show some of my teammates how we need to work as the 2025 season comes up.”

His head coach said he hopes Baker walks away from the experience with the boost in confidence he deserves but also takes the time to appreciate where he’s at.

“I hope he gains a lot of confidence from it and gets to display his ability,” Smith said. “He’ll be up against the best of the best of the pitchers in the south, and I know that’ll be a tall task, but I know he has the ability.

“Through the course of a season we get lost in the production of things, and a lot of times as coaches and players we get lost in the results of games; so I really hope he takes the time to look around and enjoy the experience and realize how special it is to be there. We know he’ll do a great job of representing himself and representing Russellville.”