‘An all-around solid baseball player’: Rams’ Chavis earns county Player of the Year honors

PEMBROKE — One of the goals that Jacob Chavis set for himself in his senior baseball season at Purnell Swett was to win Robeson County Player of the Year.

After a season in which he was arguably the county’s best both on the mound and at the plate, he certainly earned that distinction, and Chavis has been named Player of the Year as part of The Robesonian’s All-County Team and postseason awards.

“I worked all offseason for this, and it just means a lot to me, to be able to let my work show off,” Chavis said.

“He’s put the work in and he set goals, and I believe this might have been one of the goals that he set, and he’s a baseball player — he can play multiple positions, he can pitch, quality (at bats). He’s just an all-around solid baseball player,” Purnell Swett coach Jeff Lamb said.

Chavis, a Fayetteville Tech signee, excelled on the mound, at the plate and in the field for the Rams, helping lead the team to an 18-9 season, with a second-place United-8 Conference finish and a second-round 4A state playoff berth.

The recognition comes after Chavis earned an honorable-mention All-County selection in 2022 and was named to the All-County team in 2023. For more on the 2024 All-County team and awards, see the related story on page 1B.

This marks the second straight year a Purnell Swett player has been named Robeson County Player of the Year, as Chavis joins Malachi Gales in 2023; Jonathon Jacobs also won the award in 2021.

On the mound, Chavis was 4-1 with a 1.79 ERA, striking out 43 batters in 47 innings pitched, also adding one save. Opposing batters hit just .156 off the right-hander. He allowed five hits or less in all 10 outings this season, eight of which were starts, and allowed no earned runs in five of them.

And he seemed to elevate his game in the biggest moments — particularly including his final start, a first-round state playoff game in which he threw a no-hitter against Richmond in a 7-1 Rams win.

“He lives for those moments,” Lamb said. “That’s the type of players you want as a coach.”

“Some games there’s more at stake, but I try to go into every game with the same mindset,” Chavis said. “Just go out there, and my thoughts was always go to work for my team, play for my team, and then I can go out there and dominate. It’s always been like that for me.”

Offensively, Chavis hit .359 with 22 RBIs and 23 runs for the Rams, notching eight extra-base hits and stealing 14 bases. This includes seven multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games, including a six-RBI performance April 23 against Douglas Byrd.

“Hitting really wasn’t a big thing for me when I was coming up, but then came into the program here with Coach Lamb and them, and just being able to work on my swing and become a better hitter, I feel like that’s opened up my game even more to be able to do both (hit and pitch), and do both at a good level,” Chavis said. “I feel like that just helped me, and it helped our team out more than just an individual thing.”

Chavis was the Rams’ leadoff batter at times early in the season, ultimately settling into the No. 3 spot over the final weeks of the campaign.

“He was going to put the ball in play, and any time you got baserunners where he was in the lineup, guys in front of him on base, he was going to drive the runs in,” Lamb said. “That’s what you’re looking for out of those guys in the middle.”

“I just went up there in hitting situations and I was able to come up in the big situations that we needed,” Chavis said. “I feel like Coach Lamb did a good job in preparing me for the season, and offensively we had a pretty good year.”

When not pitching, Chavis anchored the Rams’ infield defense from the first base position.

“Over the season, I would hate to say how many outs he’s saved for us,” Lamb said. “He’s done that split numerous times. He’d go out and get the ball, does an excellent job there on the corner (infield).”

As Chavis heads to play collegiately in Fayetteville next season, Lamb is curious to see how the all-around star is used by the Trojans — and he’s probably not alone in that curiosity.

“I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for him,” Lamb said. “It’ll be interesting, are they going to use him as a pitcher? Are they going to use him as a position player? Because he can contribute in so many different ways.”

As he leaves Purnell Swett, he does so as part of a family with an enormous Rams legacy — the field was named for his grandfather, Ronnie Chavis, earlier this year. But Jacob Chavis has also left his own mark in his on-field performance.

“With two weeks left in the season I start talking to the seniors about what’s your legacy going to be? How are they going to remember you?” Lamb said. “I think he’ll be a guy that they remember, hey, this cat threw a no-hitter against Richmond in the first round of the state playoffs.

“He was consistent, one of the best first basemen we’ve had since I’ve been here, if not the best, and consistent at the plate. That’s big shoes to fill moving forward.”