CFNN Reporter Erin Young

Every kid dreams of having their jersey on their high school wall, and Gavin Williams was able to achieve that goal on Thursday, December 28, 2023.

Gavin Williams was born on July 26, 1999, and is currently 24 years old. He graduated from Cape Fear in 2017. He played baseball in all 4 years of high school. His freshman and sophomore year he wore number 19 but switched to the number 16 during his junior year.

“I chose the number 16 in high school because it was a number my uncle used to have when he was growing up, so when I just started to play I wanted to be like him and it just stuck with me throughout high school,” said Gavin Williams.

“My favorite part of my journey to the big leagues was being able to play with people from different countries and seeing how everyone prepares differently for games. I was able to take things from some people and be able to use them for myself.”

He graduated from ECU in 2021 with a degree in Criminal Justice. He wore number 26 his whole college career. After college he was drafted to the Cleveland Guardians, wearing the number 32. He was named the American Athletic Conference “Pitcher of the Year,” as well as earning 2021 College baseball All American Team honors.

“The biggest life lesson I’ve learned during baseball is that it’s a game of failure and you will never be perfect. The quicker you can learn from your failures and not get frustrated with yourself, will make the game easier for you. Another thing is to ‘control the controllables’ which means there’s only certain things you can control like emotions, giving energy, and effort, while some things you can’t control are errors, bad calls, and weather. So being able to control the things you can helps you focus and give your team the best chance at winning a game,” said Williams.

He missed the first half of Cape Fear’s baseball season after suffering a torn meniscus during preseason practice in February, 2017. Yet he still stayed strong and worked his way back to full strength. In 2017 after undergoing a surgery to repair his meniscus, he threw two consecutive no-hitters.

“I didn’t think my baseball journey would end when I tore my meniscus. What I did know was some of the things I loved to do while playing baseball (hitting, being a catcher, or playing the infield) were probably going to be limited,” he said.

Williams is one of, if not the greatest, pitchers in Cape Fear and Cumberland County baseball history. In honor of his outstanding career performance, Cape Fear recently held a ceremony retiring his number 16 jersey.

“I chose baseball at a young age and fell in love with the game from always being at the field with my uncle and his friends and always having them throw or hit to me while we were there,” said Williams. “If I didn’t pursue baseball I think I would’ve loved to be either a physical therapist to be able to work with athletes or an athletic trainer for a baseball team. I don’t think I could’ve been able to get out of sports after playing baseball my whole life.”

So far in his major league baseball career, Williams has appeared in 16 games with a record of 3-5 and an earned run average (ERA) of 3.29, He recorded 81 strikeouts in 82 innings pitched. We are all very proud of you Gavin, and we are looking forward to seeing you flourish as you continue to grow in the sport of baseball.