News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
White County High School will honor former student and now Major League Pitcher Ethan Roberts Saturday, renaming the school’s baseball ballpark to Culley Field at Ethan Roberts Ballpark.
Roberts has spent the past six years in the Chicago Cubs organization and made his major league debut in 2022. White County Head Baseball Coach Phillip Hensley said Roberts is now a role model for White County Baseball players for years to come.
“He is a great guy to look up to and would be an inspiration for any baseball player,” Hensley said. “Any middle school baseball player any high school baseball player that comes to a game to watch that comes to practice and to see his name as a reminder we have a guy from our hometown make it.”
Hensley said Roberts is a well-respected guy who always gives back to the community. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Ethan Roberts Ballpark will begin Saturday at 2pm.
“Anytime the community reaches out to him to be a help if he has got the availability he is always willing to do it,” Hensley said. “Another great example of that was Friday, the administration asked him to come out to do the coin flip to be visible and to get the crowd fired up and he did that and he is a true Sparta guy.”
Hensley said he hopes non-athlete students can take something away from the newly named ballpark.
“You have unlimited potential,” Hensley said. “You have opportunities and if you are willing to work and you are willing to go you can achieve your dreams.”
Hensley said the Sparta community is special as Sparta folks support each other. Hensley said Roberts’s success feels like Sparta’s success as well.
