The Coastal Alabama South Coyotes received a commitment from Joseph Stephens, a rising senior from the Gulf Shores Dolphins, on Sunday, July 2.

Less than a week after former Spanish Fort skipper JD Pruitt was named Coastal Alabama’s next head coach in Bay Minette, he helped facilitate a local pledge in the form of the 5-foot-9, 150-pound infielder who was named to the Class 6A first-team all-state as a sophomore.

“We want to congratulate Joseph Stephens on his recent commitment,” Gulf Shores head baseball coach Chris Jacks said. “We are all very proud of you and can’t wait to see what your senior season brings.”

As a junior, Stephens helped the Dolphins claim a third straight area crown despite a change in classification. In 35 games played, he registered a .337 batting average across 104 at-bats where he collected 35 hits, 15 RBIs, 43 runs scored and 26 stolen bases to go along with an on-base percentage of .453.

In the field, Stephens recorded a .951 fielding percentage playing mainly on the left side of the infield and also pitched 3.2 innings over five games where he converted all four of his save opportunities. So far in his Gulf Shores career, he has racked up 12 saves on the mound.

According to stats from Prep Baseball Report’s South Alabama Select event on Sept. 25, 2022, Stephens was tracked with a max hand speed of 21.5 mph, a max bat speed of 58.6 mph, an average exit velocity of 72.3 mph and a sweet spot percentage of 60%. In the 60-yard dash, he ran a 7.16 with a max run speed of 19.2 mph and defensively, he registered an infield velocity of 79 mph.

On the mound, Stephens’ fastball velocity topped out at 83 mph with an average spin rate of 1,931 rpm compared to an average spin rate of 1,486 rpm on his changeup that had a velocity range of 72.9-76.2 mph. Additionally, the velocity range of his slider was 67-70.4 mph with an average spin rate of 2,035 rpm.

Coastal Alabama finished 15-39 overall last season where the Coyotes took three of four from their series against Coastal Alabama East. Coastal South had one player named to the Alabama Community College Conference’s All-South District (Parker Tubb) and two more named to the All-South Division (Joe Thomas and Trace Goforth).