Ryan Weathers' Padres contract is biggest ever for a local high school player

Ryan Weathers already has made history on the local level.

The former Loretto left-handed pitcher and seventh overall pick in the major league draft signed the most lucrative rookie contract ever for a high school player from the Middle Tennessee area.

More:Vanderbilt signee Ryan Weathers signs with San Diego Padres

Weathers reportedly signed with the San Diego Padres for $5.23 million. That eclipsed the $1.6 million deal former Tullahoma pitcher Justus Sheffield received when he signed in 2014 with Cleveland after being the 31st player selected.

Overton outfielder Mookie Betts also bypassed college after committing to Tennessee in 2011 when he was picked in the fifth round by the Red Sox and signed for $750,000.

Weathers, the son of former longtime major league pitcher David Weathers from Lawrenceburg, and Sheffield had signed to play at Vanderbilt before signing their major league contracts.

Weathers became the highest-drafted high school player from Tennessee since 1972, when Memphis Bishop Byrne catcher Bobby Goodman went to Montreal as the fifth overall pick.

Weathers' rookie contract is the fourth-highest ever among any player from the Midstate, including those who went to college.

Vanderbilt pitcher David Price signed with Tampa Bay in 2007 for $8.5 million; pitcher Kyle Wright signed with Atlanta in 2017 for $7 million; and shortstop Dansby Swanson signed with Arizona in 2015 for $6.5 million.

Price and Swanson were No. 1 overall picks.

Other top signing bonuses for local players (all from Vanderbilt) over the past few years include:

• Pitcher Carson Fulmer, $3.47 million, White Sox 2015

• Outfielder Jeren Kendall, $2.9 million, Dodgers 2017

• Pitcher Walker Buehler, $1.78 million, Dodgers 2015

• Pitcher Sonny Gray, $1.54 million, Athletics 2011

By comparison to football, former Brentwood Academy cornerback Jalen Ramsey's rookie deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2016 was worth $23.35 million.

Trevecca basketball coach tabs local assistants

When former Vanderbilt assistant Omar Mance was named Trevecca's men's basketball coach in June, he said his team would have a strong local flavor.

Mance lived up to that promise on Thursday by adding Reece Chamberlain and Donald Russell to his staff.

Chamberlain is a former Beech and Belmont standout. He has been an AAU coach and served as coach and North Nashville Club director of the Upward Stars program the past few years.

Russell has been an assistant at Christ Presbyterian Academy, Lipscomb Academy and Brentwood High.

"These are two big pieces needed to mentor our young men and take our program to another level," Mance said. 

Top local basketball coaches will talk about integrity in sports

An all-star lineup of basketball coaches will speak at the free Character Counts seminar July 24 at Woodmont Baptist Church.

Vanderbilt's Bryce Drew, Belmont's Rick Byrd, Lipscomb's Casey Alexander and new Tennessee State coach Brian "Penny" Collins will discuss integrity in sports.

Longtime Channel 4 sports anchor Rudy Kalis will moderate the discussion.

Doors open at 6 p.m. For more information, visit woodmontbaptist.com/charactercounts.

Lipscomb will play Louisville

Lipscomb ended the 2017-18 basketball season with some stiff competition in the NCAA tournament and will face another tough test early in the 2018-19 season.

The Bisons, who lost to North Carolina in March in their first NCAA tournament appearance, will play Louisville on Dec. 12 at the KFC Yum Center.

Lipscomb will receive $270,000 in compensation from Louisville for the game, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt baseball finish in Top 25 

Tennessee Tech posted its highest ranking ever in the final Baseball America and USA Today Top 25 polls.

The Golden Eagles (53-12) were 11th in Baseball America and 12th in USA Today.

Tech advanced for the first time in history to the NCAA Super Regionals.

Vanderbilt (35-27), which also made it to the Super Regionals but lost to Tech in the regular season, finished 17th in the Baseball America poll and 16th in USA Today.

Jay Cutler 'probably' finished with football

Former Vanderbilt quarterback Jay Cutler, 35, revealed in the latest episode of the reality show “Very Cavallari” his football career is “probably” over.

In a promo for the show, which stars Cutler’s wife, Kristin Cavallari, Cutler addressed the issue.

After Cavallari asked whether he is “100 percent done with football,” Cutler replied, “I mean, can’t say 100. Probably.”

Cavallari then asked when he would know for sure, and Cutler said by September.

Cutler spent last season, his 12th in the NFL, with the Dolphins. He spent eight seasons in Chicago.

Cutler, Cavallari and their three children moved from Chicago to Nashville last year. 

Several area players in NBA Summer League

Three former Vanderbilt players are on NBA Summer League rosters. That includes John Jenkins, who was waived in 2015-16 and 2016-17. 

The former Station Camp star is trying to make a comeback playing for Portland. The 6-foot-4 guard was cut by Dallas during the 2015-16 season and Phoenix in 2016-17.

Jenkins played professionally in Spain this past season.

The other Commodores in the Summer League, which began recently, are Wade Baldwin, also with Portland, and Damian Jones with Golden State.

Some other local players include Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes with the Bulls, MTSU’s Nick King with the Lakers, Reggie Upshaw with the Clippers and Giddy Potts with the Raptors, and former Northeast High and Kentucky star Alex Poythress with the Pacers.

Terry Bradshaw to speak to Boys & Girls Club at MTSU

Four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Terry Bradshaw, now a Fox NFL analyst, will be the featured speaker at the 31st annual Boys & Girls Clubs of Rutherford County Stake & Burger dinner.

The dinner is July 24 at the Middle Tennessee State Student Union Center.

Bradshaw is a two-time Super Bowl MVP and Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee.

For tickets, visit bgcrc.net or call Michelle Clifford at 615-890-2582.

The Zone adds new show 

The Zone 104.5-FM launched a new sports talk show “The Big Six” on July 2 featuring host Jason Martin. It airs weekdays from 6-7 p.m.

Martin is a former intern at the station who also has worked in professional wrestling and written for Clay Travis’ Outkick the Coverage" as well as producing and serving as a host on Fox Sports Radio.

Martin also is host of "Squared Circle Radio," which airs 7-8 a.m. Sundays on 104.5.

Billy Whitaker leaves East for DuPont

Billy Whitaker, a mainstay in the East Nashville High athletic department over the past 25 years, is moving to DuPont Tyler Middle School.

The 1985 Antioch graduate will be a physical education teacher and assistant on Bubba Spears' football coaching staff at DuPont.

"Tyler has a strong administration, which I like," Whitaker said. "And I have an 8-year-old daughter (Olivia) who plays softball at Donelson Civitan (Park) and I want to be able to watch her play."

Whitaker started every sport at East when it became a high school again in 1993. He coached wrestling, cross country, football, basketball, golf and baseball at one time or another and also served as athletics director from 1993-2014.

Whitaker was best known for wrestling, where he had at least one athlete qualify for the state tournament in each of his 25 years as coach.

MTSU baseball assistant hired at SE Louisiana 

Former MTSU baseball assistant coach Tim Donnelly has joined the staff at Southeastern Louisiana.

Donnelly, the 2016 Conference USA Assistant Coach of the Year, was the recruiting coordinator and hitting coach at MTSU on former coach Jim McGuire’s staff. Donnelly will serve in both roles at Southeastern Louisiana.

Fulmer speaking at Wildhorse

Tennessee athletics director and former football coach Phil Fulmer will speak at Wildhorse Saloon on July 12 at the Nashville Sports Council luncheon (11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.).

Doors open at 11 a.m.

For tickets or more information visit nashvillesports.com/events.

Pugh returns to Tech in new role

New Tennessee Tech coach Dewayne Alexander named Chip Pugh the Golden Eagles director of football operations.

Pugh spent the past five years as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes character coach for the team. He served as Tech’s strength coach from 2006-13.

Former Murfreesboro gymnast interning with TBI

Jasmine Arnold, a senior on the Georgia gymnastics team from Murfreesboro, is doing an internship this summer with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

Arnold is a four-year letter winner who is majoring in psychology. She attended Gateway Christian School.

Plant gets championship bout

The IBF announced Thursday that Ashland City boxer Caleb Plant will get a shot at super middleweight champion Jose Uzcategui from Venezuela. An agreement on the date for the bout must be reached by handlers for both fighters by Aug. 5.

Plant (17-0, 10 knockouts) is ranked No. 2 by the IBF in the 168-pound division.
Uzcategui is 27-2 with 23 knockouts.

Local pickleball player is nationally ranked 

Walter Knestrick and his pickleball partner, Rex Lawler from India, are the nation's No. 1-ranked 80-over doubles team.

Pickleball is a paddle sport and has been growing in popularity over the past 10 years. 

Knestrick, a 1955 Hillsboro High and 1959 Vanderbilt graduate, and Lawler were featured recently in Pickleball Central magazine.

For the second consecutive year, they won the gold medal in their age division in the U.S. Open Pickleball Tournament in Naples, Fla.

The U.S. Open is the world's largest pickleball tournament with more than 2,000 participants this year from 46 states and 18 countries.

If you have an item for Midstate Chatter, contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.