ROCKINGHAM — A lifelong pursuit to play baseball at the college level came to fruition for Caden Nolan earlier this offseason.
The senior at Richmond Senior High School saw his hard work and dedication to his craft pay off when he verbally committed to play at Belmont Abbey College.
In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sept. 19, Nolan shared the news about his future plans.
“I am extremely excited to announce that I have committed to Belmont Abbey! I would like to thank God, my parents, coaches, teammates and friends who have helped me along the way,” the post read in part.
“It’s an awesome feeling,” Nolan said. “Playing college ball has always been a dream of mine and I’m extremely grateful to be given that opportunity.”
The recruitment process, though no easy task for high school for high school student-athletes, proved to be a fairly smooth ride for Nolan after he had a breakout season for the Raiders during his junior season.
Also crediting his success with the Hamlet Post 49 baseball program over the summer, Nolan saw an uptick in interest from colleges around the region. In addition to Belmont Abbey, he also had an official offer from Erskine College.
That success, paired with a couple of unofficial visits to Belmont Abbey to meet with the Crusaders’ coaching staff and view the team’s facilities, cemented Nolan’s decision.
“After playing well my junior year and this past summer, I started to hear back from a bunch of coaches which was pretty exciting,” Nolan recalled.
“And after talking to the coaches at Belmont Abbey and seeing the campus a couple times, I knew that’s where I wanted to play.”
As a junior this past spring, Nolan made the All-Sandhills Athletic Conference baseball team for the first time. He served as the Raiders’ No. 2 pitcher in the rotation and was a threat at the plate.
Nolan was ranked in the top five in five categories in the conference — .514 slugging percentage (second), .520 on-base percentage (second), 71 strikeouts (tied second), two home runs (fifth) and 19 RBI (tied fifth).
On the mound he had a 5-3 record, held batters to a .230 average and struck out 71 batters in 47 innings. He had four outings of 10+ strikeouts, including a single-game career-high 11 Ks against Hoke County in the SAC tournament.
Nolan drove in a team-high 19 RBI on 24 hits last season and he hit two home runs. His biggest swing of the season was a homer in the SAC championship victory over Pinecrest High School.
A three-year member of the Raider football program, Nolan decided to trade his helmet and shoulder pads for extra time on the diamond, a decision he says has helped him even more with baseball.
“I think making the decision to focus on baseball this year helped me continue to work harder,” Nolan explained. “Instead of spending that time practicing another sport, I spent it getting extra reps for baseball. And I think that ultimately helped me out.”
When he joins the Belmont Abbey baseball team following his high school graduation, Nolan will head to a program that’s coached by Chris Anderson.
During the 2025 season, the Crusaders went 41-17 overall and won the Conference Carolinas championship tournament. Belmont Abbey made the NCAA Division II playoffs and went 1-2 before being eliminated in the Southeast Regional.
While his dreams of playing college baseball are on the near horizon, Nolan said he’s not forgetting about the Raiders and all he wants to accomplish during his senior season.
“I want to keep spending every day working hard and getting as many reps as I can to get better for this upcoming season and then for college ball,” Nolan shared.
“I want to give my best effort to the Raiders during my final season and see what we can do together as a team.
“I would like to thank my parents for giving me every opportunity they could for me to play the sport I love, all the coaches who have helped me along the way, and most importantly, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” he closed.
The Raider baseball program will continue offseason workouts through November and December before gearing up for the new season after the new year.
Richmond is expected to hold a signing day celebration before winter break for all student-athletes going onto the college ranks.
