Wingate, N.C.----Future Wingate University outfielder Tripp Faulk (Little River, S.C./North Myrtle Beach HS) was drafted Thursday in the 38th round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Atlanta Braves. More than 1,521 players were selected in 50 rounds.
Faulk’s father Paul is an East Coast scout for the Braves. Paul Faulk told the Myrtle Beach Sun News Thursday he did not play a role in his son’s selection. “I don’t want people to do things because of me and Tripp isn’t that way either,” Paul Faulk says. “I didn’t have anything to do with it.”
The elder Faulk took a hands-off approach to the evaluation of his son from the beginning, allowing Atlanta’s other scouts to evaluate him on their own. Braves national scout Terry Tripp saw Tripp Faulk play during the summer of 2008, wrote his evaluation and told his co-worker that he wanted to draft his son.
Tripp Faulk will play on the South 2A/3A All-Star team this weekend. Faulk was selected by the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association (SCBCA) for this honor. During his senior season, Faulk hit .407 for North Myrtle Beach High School and head coach Tim Graham.
“Tripp Faulk knows how to play the game of baseball,” Wingate head coach Allen Osborne affirms. “He was born and raised in a baseball family. Tripp has played against the top competition in the country. We look forward to his contributions to the Bulldog athletic program.”
As a junior, Faulk hit .442 with 14 RBIs, 13 steals and 15 runs scored. Thanks to the efforts of Faulk and his teammates, the Chiefs earned a play-off berth in 2008. Following his junior campaign, Faulk was named All-State, Toast of the Coast and All-Region as he won the regional batting title. North Myrtle Beach won the regional championship in 2007.
Faulk has played in the East Coast Showcase (Lakeland, Fla.), the Area Code Games (Long Beach, Calif.) and the Palmetto Games (Columbia, S.C.). Tripp Faulk is the son of Paul and Betsy Faulk. Paul Faulk played baseball for Seminole Junior College. He was drafted by the San Francisco Giants.
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,129 students, offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, international study, faith development, career discovery and community service.
Wingate offers 40 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physical education, physician assistant studies, sport administration and the doctor of pharmacy degree.
Bulldog student-athletes compete in 17 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past three years.
Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 32 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 41 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.
(Special thanks to Josh Hoke from the Myrtle Beach Sun News for providing background information for this article.)
