AFLAC All American

Interesting that he was given only Honorable Mention on the All State team. Who votes for that, anyway? Were they asleep?

Midlo Dad,
Go to The Perfect Game website, click on AFLAC and it will explain the selection process.

Sting96: Neil was only selected for Honorable mention because he did not have the greatest high school season. He was maybe 4-5 or so on the mound while batting about .300. He may throw 95 mph but he got hit by teams in his district because the talent in good hitters was high in the beach district. He is a great player and a great kid.

I do not know anything about the selection process for VA Allstate selections, nor did I bring it up. Its a mute point and will be when this fine player commits to a major D1 school or gets that big MLB signing bonus.
AFLAC is known to pick some of the best players in the country (IE, Upton, Jeffress, etc, etc) each year since they started. Many were drafted in 1st round. No, it doesn't mean you have to play in the AFLAC game to get drafted.
Bottom line, we should be proud that Neil is representing the Beach and VA in a national event as prestigious as the AFLAC All American Game. I know it must have been exciting to recieve his AFLAC jersey during a Washington Nationals game earlier this month. Great kid, great player who's getting better everyday.
Congrats to Neil and his family, good luck, we'll be watchin while you put Beach baseball on the map. Enjoy yourself out in Cali.

In The Game: Neil didn't have the best record but I will debate what you said about district teams hitting him, he had a 1.2 ERA. That's pretty darn good in my opinion and Neil didn't have the best support from his team. I will say that the state had some very good pitchers with many of them coming from Hampton Roads and they had better records and almost as good ERA'S. With that being said Neil is one of the top pitchers in the country and will probably be a first round draft choice next year. If these teams were picked on pure talent and potential Neil would be the state Player Of The Year

Most All state teams are players from teams that go deep into the state tournamnet. The reason is more coaches from around the state get to see these players paly.

Michael Vick did not get All-state either.

Doc, please don't bash Neil's HS team. He is a great player, and his team faired fairly well in a tough Beach district.
Neil pitched very well this season, had some good wins and some tough losses. And he truely deserves to be where he is at, AFLAC All American. Good job Neil.

Sting, my intent was not to bash Kempsville I was only stating the facts about Neil and his team. Kempsville was only a 6 or 7 seed team in the Beach District play-offs and beating Eastern District teams doesn't make them a power. Kempsville was an OK team no more no less.

Way to Go Neil!!!
Agree with Sting, Neil needs no excuses nor should any blame be directed towards his teamates. Surprisingly, they won 3-4 games without him on the mound (vs Cox being one of them). They gave their best and 3 of his losses were just 1 run games (vs FC, PA, Kellam) 2 of which went to regionals and 1 the defending state champ, which isn't to shabby. I am sure that his teamates are proud to have one of their own playing in the AFLAC game.
Great player, going to go far and deserves a spot on the AFLAC squad.
Congradulations Neil, your team, your school, Kempsville area and the Beach are rooting for yah!

I watched him pitch in the Fall last year and was very impressed. Good for him good for Va. I will say there are alot of good players in the tidewater area.

HS accolades are purley political everywhere in probably every state. Generally always a result of media attention. Not to lessen those that get the accolades because they are generally deserving. I imagine this AFLAC is a little more discerning simply because it has a process.