Parrott alum returns for Freedom Classic

All photos supplied by Dr. Bert Bright.

Air Force cadet Connor Bright returns to Kinston’s Grainger Stadium in this weekend’s Freedom Classic. 

Bright, #21 on the Air Force Falcons team, before the first pitch.

When the Air Force Falcons face Army’s Black Knights in the Freedom Classic this weekend, Parrott Academy alumnus Connor Bright will feel right at home. Bright, who graduated from APA in 2018, is currently a junior at the Air Force Academy and wears #21 on the varsity baseball team. In 2015 his pitching helped the Patriots win a state championship title in Grainger Stadium under the coaching of George Whitfield. He went on to play for both Steve Bryant and Robert Kravitz on the Patriot squad.

“He’s undoubtedly one of the hardest working players I’ve ever coached,” Kravitz noted. “He’s matured as both an individual and as a baseball player.”  

The jumbotron at LSU’s Alex Box stadium shows Connor Bright’s photo as he takes the mound. 

Bright most recently pitched several innings against Louisiana Tech at LSU’s famous Alex Box stadium. But he finds returning to Kinston just as meaningful. “This community as a whole helped me grow as a person in high school, and that’s largely the reason I’m able to have the opportunity to play here this weekend,” he said. When asked about being a member of the Academy squad, he focused on the unique closeness of the cadet community. “I’m surrounded by 35 other guys on this team who would literally die for me every day.” He also credits his coach, Mike Kazlausky, with emphasizing the true meaning of an Academy education: to create leaders who will protect the nation. 

Parrott A.D. Matt Beaman said he’ll be rooting for the Falcons this weekend. “It’s exciting to see one of our former athletes on the Grainger diamond.  Connor certainly shows that hard work pays off.”