Purnell Swett’s Chandon Sanderson throws a pitch during a May 1 United-8 Conference Tournament semifinal game against Lumberton in Pembroke. Sanderson was named Robeson County Pitcher of the Year.
Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
Lumberton’s Caiden Hall throws a pitch during an April 15 game against Purnell Swett in Pembroke. Hall was named Robeson County Underclassman of the Year.
Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
Lumberton baseball coach Jeff McLamb and player Nolan Groner look on during a 2023 Robeson County Slugfest game against St. Pauls in Red Springs. McLamb was named Robeson County Coach of the Year.
Chris Stiles | The Robesonian
Every Robeson County baseball team seemed to have its ups and downs this spring, but ultimately four of the five programs reached the state playoffs, with Lumberton leading the way sharing a conference championship and St. Pauls and Fairmont each advancing to the second round of the 2A state playoffs.
These team accomplishments were driven by the individual successes within each program, with a talented group of players calling Robeson County home.
Here are the county’s best from the 2025 season:
Player of the Year
Brody Stueck brought the energy for the United-8 champion Lumberton team while also leading Robeson County in RBIs and playing stellar defense behind the plate, earning Robeson County Player of the Year recognition.
Stueck hit .470 with 26 RBIs, 11 runs, six extra-base hits and five stolen bases, striking out just seven times. He also had a .988 fielding percentage while leading the Pirates pitching staff to a solid season.
For more on Stueck’s award-winning season, see the related story here.
Pitcher of the Year
On a Purnell Swett staff boasting three pitchers with an ERA under 2.00, Chandon Sanderson was the Rams’ ace, taking the ball in each big game and rarely giving it up. He has been named Robeson County Pitcher of the Year.
“Chan is the kind of kid that he wants the ball every time it’s his turn, and he’s the kind of kid that he wants to pitch until the game’s over or until he runs out of his pitch count,” Purnell Swett coach Edmund Locklear said. “Probably the hardest kid in the world to ever take off the mound. … He’s what you call a gamer; when the lights shine the brightest, that’s when he does his best. He had a great year on the mound, and every time he towed the rubber we had a chance to win a ballgame.”
Sanderson posted a 1.57 ERA with a 4-4 record, striking out 49 batters in 44 innings. He pitched six innings or more seven times, and allowed no earned runs in four of his eight starts and two earned runs or less in seven of the eight.
“He pounds the zone with his fastball, and he can throw his breaking ball in any count for a strike,” Locklear said. “So you really can’t just sit there and zone in on one pitch, because he can throw all of them for a strike when needed.”
Sanderson, who was an All-County selection in 2023 and 2024, also hit .357 with 26 runs, 15 RBIs and 18 stolen bases.
“He was our team leader,” Locklear said. “He also led the team in hitting. He showed up every day, busted his butt in practice from day one when I got there, and he was just what I tend to call our alpha for the team, our all-around best player.”
Sanderson is signed to play collegiately at Fayetteville Tech.
Underclassman of the Year
The future was here this spring for Lumberton, with sophomore Caiden Hall making an impact both on the mound and at the plate. That stellar season earned him Robeson County Underclassman of the Year honors.
“The biggest thing with Caiden, he’s a competitor; when he steps on the mound, he likes to compete and he’s going to give you everything he’s got, and I think that’s got a lot to do with his success,” Lumberton coach Jeff McLamb said.
On the mound, Hall was 3-1 with a 1.93 ERA, striking out 42 batters in 32 innings. His mound success was most evident in a two-start stretch in the middle of the season, with a two-hit shutout of Cape Fear on March 28 before a no-hitter against South View on April 4, with 16 combined strikeouts in those appearances.
“He threw some big games for us, threw the no-hitter against South View, and I thought he had a tremendous year,” McLamb said.
Hall also hit .358 with 14 RBIs, 13 runs, five triples and seven stolen bases.
“As a sophomore playing varsity, that’s always a big step up, but I thought at the bat, and especially on the mound, I thought he handled everything very well,” McLamb said. “If he keeps working and getting better each year, I see him definitely with the ability to play at the next level.”
Coach of the Year
After leading Lumberton to a share of the United-8 Conference championship, the Pirates’ first in 10 years, Jeff McLamb has been named Robeson County Coach of the Year.
“Coming into the season, it was one of those years where you didn’t know what to expect,” McLamb said. “I just felt like teams took us lightly, but we came out and competed and took advantage early in the season. I thought we played good team ball; not a lot of individual standouts, but just good team baseball, and we played together as a team and getting a conference championship.”
Lumberton was 15-9 overall and 11-3 in the United-8; the Pirates also reached the 4A state playoffs for the first time in 10 seasons.
The key stretch came with a nine-game winning streak through the month of March; after startin 0-2, the Pirates won 13 of the next 15 games.
“I just think the boys started seeing that if we play together as a team, we can be in every ballgame and win every game if we play together as a team,” McLamb said. “The big thing was, it all clicked, we all played together as a team, played good team ball, played good defense, and I don’t think we lit it up hitting wise, but I think we got big hits, timely hitting, executed well, and early in the year, especially when we went on that winning streak, that was big for us just winning those ballgames.”
“He just kept us together all year, kept us on track,” Stueck said. “At practice too, he made us work.”
McLamb credits assistant coaches Jonathan Benson, Timmy Carter, Josh Smith and Hank Moore for helping lead the Pirates to success. McLamb stepped down as head coach after the season to spend more time supporting his daughter Olivia’s softball career with the Pirates.
All-County Team
Brennan Griffin, Jr., SS, Lumberton — .434 average, 14 RBIs, 30 runs, 14 stolen bases
Landon Claar, Sr., P/UT, Lumberton — .400 average, 15 runs, 11 stolen bases; 3.62 ERA, 5-2 record, 32 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings pitched
Issac Simmons, Sr., 1B, Lumberton — .444 average, 19 runs, seven extra-base hits, nine stolen bases
*Camden Hunt, Sr., IF, Purnell Swett — .311 average, 17 RBIs, 20 runs, three triples, 13 stolen bases
*Joseden Oxendine, So., UT/P, Purnell Swett — .333 average, 19 RBIs, 14 runs; 1.82 ERA, 1-5 record, 39 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings pitched
Easton Oxendine, Sr., OF, Purnell Swett — .267 average, 13 RBIs, 18 runs, 11 extra-base hits, two home runs, five stolen bases
Jaythan Locklear, Sr., P, Purnell Swett — 1.81 ERA, 4-1 record, 23 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched
*Nemo Chavis, Sr., SS, Fairmont — .384 average, 36 runs, seven extra-base hits, 26 stolen bases
*^Mynkoda Smith, Sr., UT/P, Fairmont — .338 average, 17 RBIs, 14 runs, seven extra-base hits; 2.30 ERA, 4-2 record, 55 strikeouts in 48 2/3 innings pitched
*^Kenley Callahan, Sr., 1B, Fairmont — .310 average, 25 RBIs, 15 runs, eight extra-base hits, two home runs, seven stolen bases
R.J. Deese, Sr., C/P, Fairmont — 10 runs, 13 stolen bases; 1.02 ERA, 2-1 record, 18 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings pitched
*Jaylen Jacobs, Sr., 1B, St. Pauls — .423 average, 15 RBIs, 23 runs, seven extra-base hits, one home run, 10 stolen bases
*Joshua Garner, Sr., C, St. Pauls — .370 average, 20 RBIs, eight extra-base hits, one home run
Jaden Parker, Sr., SS/P, St. Pauls — .350 average, 19 RBIs, 18 runs, 11 extra-base hits, one home run, 16 stolen bases; 3.04 ERA, 63 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings pitched
Tyler Lavoie, Jr., OF, St. Pauls — .317 agerage, 11 RBIs, 13 runs, four extra-base hits, five stolen bases
*Xzavier Sinclair, So., P/C, Red Springs — .389 average, 16 RBIs, eight extra-base hits, eight stolen bases; 3.77 ERA, 2-2 record, 54 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings pitched
Terry Locklear, So., IF, Red Springs — .349 average, 16 runs, nine stolen bases
*T.J. Ellerbe, Jr., SS/OF, Red Springs — .270 average, 15 runs, 20 stolen bases
* — denotes 2024 All-County selection
^ — denotes 2023 All-County selection
Honorable mentions
Purnell Swett’s Conley Jacobs, Fairmont’s Parker Chavis and Red Springs’ Jacoby Lowery each earned honorable-mention selections.
The All-County team and postseason awards are selected by The Robesonian sports staff with input from coaches.
Sports editor Chris Stiles can be reached at 910-816-1977 or by email at [email protected]. You can follow him on X at @StilesOnSports.
