By Bob Sutton
Special to The Alamance News
Western Alamance’s experience at the quarterback position took an unexpected turn after two-year starter Ethan Oakley suffered an injury early in the baseball season.
Oakley has undergone Tommy John surgery on his left elbow.
“Quarterback is definitely out,” Oakley said in the spring.
The Warriors figured to have a veteran signal caller until Oakley went down with the ulnar collateral ligament injury.
While he has been cleared for some regular activities, throwing a football isn’t one of them. He hopes to be ready for full baseball action in advance of his senior season on the diamond in 2027.
The injury reached its peak during a March 4 baseball game against visiting Rockingham County when Oakley was pitching in relief.
“I think I was five pitches in. I threw a curveball,” he said. “I felt like a tiny little pop in my elbow and I kind of heard it, too. I was thinking maybe it’s a joints pop. I didn’t think anything of it. It didn’t hurt really. Then I threw a fastball the next pitch and it popped and it hurt really bad and I went down.”
Oakley said it’s his first serious injury in sports.
“I kind of knew what happened,” he said. “As pitchers, you can usually tell. Then we went to the hospital that night to make sure it wasn’t anything bone related and got the MRI and they told us ‘partial tear of my UCL.’ ”
Spectators and others immediately were cognizant that something was amiss.
“The moment it happened, you could literally hear a pin drop in the stadium because everybody knew what it meant,” Western baseball coach Mitch Carter said. “What it meant to this baseball team, what it means to the football team, what it means to Ethan. Everybody knew.”
The uncertainty was bothersome.
“First torn ligament like that, so it’s a scary thing,” Oakley said a few weeks later. “I have a lot of time. I have a good six months. I’ll be good. Doctor is kind of hopeful I’ll be back before football.”
Oakley said this injury is far different from a few sprained ankles in the past. His baseball role for Western was primarily as a pitcher, though he worked as an outfielder and first baseman as well.
“That was my main thing,” Oakley said. “I hit a little bit, but mainly a pitcher.”
That night, new Western football coach Drew Hambright was attending what turned out to be his only baseball game of the season.
“I didn’t know if I was the curse,” Hambright said.
Oakley, who underwent surgery in the first week of April during spring break, remembered seeing his new football coach and realizing the potential ramifications for that sport.
“He was one of the first people over, so that was nice to see,” Oakley said of Hambright. “He has been texting me, calling me, making sure I’m OK.”
Oakley had been one of the focal points of two sports at Western.
“It was tough,” said Dawson Boysel, a baseball and football teammate. “It’s definitely hard for him, for sure.”
It’s clear that this impacts Western’s football season, which begins later this month. It already put a pinch on the baseball team.
“It is very unfortunate, but I don’t think I can throw,” Oakley said in the spring.
The Warriors adjusted their pitching plans.
“Obviously, Ethan was one of our best pitchers (in 2025) and he had a really good offseason in the weight room getting bigger,” Carter said. “He had a great start to the season. Pitched really well in the scrimmages and pitched well in the one regular-season game he had prior to that injury.”
The night of the injury, Oakley departed during the game for the hospital.
“Luckily, the team kind of rallied and we were able to get a win that night,” Carter said. “Ethan was texting us from the hospital as the game is going on. He went to go get it X-rayed to make sure he hadn’t chipped a bone. So he’s texting us.
“That night after the game, he came back to this field while we were working on the field (maintenance) postgame and to see all the guys and celebrate the win. Speaks a lot to his character and how much he cares about this team and his teammates.”
Western’s baseball record improved to 3-0 the night of Oakley’s injury. The Warriors finished 15-10.
“We miss him badly on the mound,” Carter said late in the season. “We miss his leadership and kind of the consistency he had out there.”
In the weeks that followed the Rockingham County game, Oakley said he was still preparing as if he’d be the football team’s quarterback this year. After consultations with experts at Duke Hospital, it was determined that surgery was the logical step in the recovery process. So playing quarterback this year went by the wayside.
He was put in contact with an overhand throwing specialist in Greensboro.
In retrospect, Oakley said he noticed soreness during last year’s football season, but didn’t realize the severity.
“I put a lot of stress on it over time,” he said.
Oakley has been attending Western football workouts. He has said there’s a chance he can be on the football field later in the season in a non-quarterback role.
“I want to give it my best shot,” he said.
