They say the third time’s the charm. For Carson Quillen that was true on Tuesday morning as the Greeneville baseball senior leader was named the Tennessee Baseball Coach’s Association Class 3A Mr. Baseball winner.
“It feels amazing. Honestly, I’m blessed,” Quillen expressed. “It was a surreal moment, honestly. It’s hard to appreciate it in the moment and feel it. It felt great to hear my name called. It’s definitely special.”
Quillen has been on the stage twice before. Once for Mr. Baseball as a sophomore and in December as a Mr. Football finalist. He’s been on the losing side of things when it comes to these ceremonies. Today, he finally got to experience the winning feeling.
“I’ve been on the stage before when your name doesn’t get called, so, just to get to see both sides of it and understand both sides so I’m very appreciative now,” he stated.
His stats in 2025 speak for themselves. He finished the regular season with a .506 batting average and .672 on-base percentage. He had 44 hits with 18 extra-base hits. He stole 42 bases and walked or was hit by a pitch 44 times. In 38 innings on the mound, he went 5-1 with 38 strikeouts and 9 walks.
Quillen reflected on the process it took to get here.
“This team, the coaches, everybody that’s put me in this position, I wish I could literally go up there and shake their hands and say thank you. Thank you to everybody. Thank you to the community. I’m appreciative of everybody that supports us. I couldn’t be more blessed.”
Coach Andy Collins has had the privilege to coach Quillen all four years and explained his happiness for Carson in his moment, “I’m so happy for him. I’m definitely not the only one that knows how hard he’s worked for it. It’s something that, at least in my four years, I know he’s one of the hardest working kids that there is and that I’ve had.”
Greeneville is looking to capture their third State Championship later in the week and their quest for gold begins on Wednesday with South Gibson. Although Quillen and everybody else is excited to celebrate his prestigious award, he detailed what needs to be done to recapture glory “Look past this moment. As bad as you don’t want to, tomorrow’s a new day. We have a goal. Our team’s here and we have a goal. We say it every time we’re down here, we’re here for a reason. We want to go win it,” he explained.
A story that Coach Collins shared showed Quillen’s determination and willingness to commit to the grind. He explained, “I think his freshman year I was in one of my rants or one of my moods and I said ‘you know you’re not the guy’ and I think you can pull up his phone right now and I think he’s got my quote in his phone right there that says, ‘you’re not the guy’ and I think that is the type of person that he is. He’s been motivated for four years to be that guy and he certainly is today.”
In April, Quillen was honored as one of 22 student-athletes recognized by the East Tennessee Chapter of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame as a Scholar-Athlete. The prestigious award celebrates student-athletes who have excelled on the football field, in the classroom, and as leaders in their communities.
Off the field, Quillen maintains a 3.9 GPA and is a member of the National Honor Society. He is on track to graduate with honors and is actively involved in several leadership organizations, including Youth Leadership, Youth Council, and serves as a senior leader in Young Life.
Though still undecided on his college destination, Quillen plans to major in either Pre-Law or Business following graduation.
The other finalists in Class 3A were Alex Bedford of Lawrence County and Andrew Fulmer of Tullahoma.
