AHSAABryant-JordanExcel Panthers

Tragedy Turns to Triumph For Excel’s Will Thomas

April 15, 2024

BRYANT-JORDAN SPOTLIGHT: WILL THOMAS

Josh Bean | For the AHSAA

EXCEL, AL – Excel High School senior Will Thomas has transformed unspeakable tragedy into remarkable achievement.

His amazing journey has also been about how a small school community in Monroe County wrapped its arms around a young man and gave him a place to heal and mature – and a dramatic reminder of the powerful role sports can play in a young person’s life.

Thomas’ younger brother died after his mother, who long battled drug and alcohol addiction, left the infant in a hot car in 2016 in nearby Monroeville. The tragedy was especially difficult for Will, who said he “begged” his mother for a little brother for years and dreamed of having a sibling. His brother passed away before reaching his first birthday.

“I felt the heartbreak from it,” Will said.

The tragedy played out publicly as the case became big news in tiny Monroe County and drew attention from statewide, regional, and national news outlets. Will’s mother was eventually sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2018.

“He had some obstacles to overcome with some tough situations, but he’s navigated that deal really well,” Excel football coach Jason Phillips said. “Sometimes you go through some troubles in your life, and it causes you to be a little bit more resilient. He’s really mature for his age. He’s a big-time leader.

“Will is just a tremendous young man. You run out of superlatives when you talk about someone like that,” the coach continued. “He’s all-around. He does it on the field. He does it in the classroom. He does it in the community. He’s just an all-around leader.”

A multi-year starter on Excel’s football, baseball and basketball teams, Thomas carries a 3.9 GPA and serves as president of the National Honor Society. He quarterbacked Excel to the 2022 Class 3A, Region 1 championship – the school’s first region title since 1997 and first playoff appearance since 2009 – and has become the baseball team’s ace pitcher.

Thomas’ excellence in and out of the classroom explains why he’s one of 52 regional winners in the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program’s Achievement category. A total of 104 high school senior student-athletes – 52 in the program’s Achievement category and 52 in the Scholar-Athlete category – were selected as regional winners in the scholarship program. All will be recognized at the 37th annual Bryant-Jordan Awards Banquet to be held Monday night, April 15, at the Sheraton Birmingham Hotel.

Each regional recipient receives a $3,000 scholarship. From the regional winners, the Bryant-Jordan Selection Committee will select class winners and the overall recipients of the Larry D. Striplin, Jr., Scholar-Athlete state award and the Ken & Betty Joy Blankenship Achievement state award. The class award recipients will receive an additional $3,500 scholarship, and the two individuals named the state award recipients each receive an additional $4,000 scholarship as the overall state winners. More than $12 million in scholarship funds has been distributed to student recipients by the Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program since its inception in 1988.

MOVING TO EXCEL

With his mother imprisoned and his father largely absent from his life, Will moved in with family members and now lives with an aunt and uncle. That required a transfer to Excel, only four miles away from Monroeville, where he found a whole new world in a one-stoplight town where neighbors look out for each other.

Will was already a standout athlete in youth leagues, and he said sports became his refuge providing a stress reliever and coping mechanism while providing structure and support.

“I just knew I had to get through that,” Thomas said. “My safe haven was baseball and sports. Whenever I got on the field or the basketball court, I had a clear mind and knew what I had to get done.”

At Excel, he said he found supportive teachers, administrators, and classmates, all of whom likely already knew about his brother’s death and his mother’s legal case.

“Basically, it was a new start,” he said. “Making friends was really easy.”

Like many small schools, the town of Excel and the school are intertwined. Much of the town’s social scene revolves around the school, especially its athletic teams, and that gave Thomas the chance to shine. “I never dealt with a community looking down on me,” he said.

Thomas also said he leaned on his Christian faith to get through his personal tragedy and noted he was baptized on his brother’s birthday.

“Looking back at everything, I see now that was God’s plan for me because it made me mature a whole lot faster,” he said.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Today, just a few weeks from graduation, Will continues to chase his dream of playing college baseball. Armed with a fastball consistently clocked in the mid-80s, he’s drawn attention from several of the state’s junior college programs.

“When it comes to baseball, I like to describe him as a bulldog, especially on the mound,” said Brett Patterson, Excel’s first-year baseball coach. “Great team guy. Leader. He’s poised. His emotions don’t get out of sorts. Some guys try to lead by doing too much or going above and beyond. He’s poised when he needs to be. He also knows when to take over, especially when he’s pitching.”

Regardless of whether he lives his college baseball dream, Thomas plans to pursue a degree in physical therapy.

“I can help kids recover and help them get back into the sport they can play,” he said.

Perhaps better than anyone, Will Thomas understands how sports helped him cope with monstrous tragedy.

“I am looking forward and moving to the future,” he said, “I see I’m ready for anything the world, or God, puts in front of me.”

The complete list of Bryant-Jordan Regional winners are listed below:

2024 Bryant-Jordan Scholarship Program

Scholar-Athlete Regional Recipients

CLASS 1A
REGION 1:     Landon Hanks | Kinston
REGION 2:     Parker Townsend | Sweet Water
REGION 3:     Makasiah Burns | Autaugaville
REGION 4:     Daymion Winfrey | Alabama School/Blind
REGION 5:     Haley Hendrix | Victory Christian
REGION 6:     Cale Tittle | Lynn
REGION 7:     Amelia Tafazoli | St. Bernard Prep
REGION 8:     Caroline Lambert | Waterloo

CLASS 7A
REGION 1:     Sanders Daniell | Fairhope
REGION 2:     Amelia Cantwell | Prattville
REGION 3:     Collin Pate | Hoover
REGION 4:     Bhavya Chalasani | James Clemens

Student Achievement Regional Recipients

CLASS 7A
REGION 1:     Kolton Nero | Foley
REGION 2:     Riley Stewart | Enterprise
REGION 3:     Aniyah McCaslin | Oak Mountain
REGION 4:     Daniel Leija | Albertville