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By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

East Carolina baseball has produced three first-round picks in program history. Carson Whisenhunt of Mocksville has the potential to join the short list in June.
Professional scouts consider him among the top college pitchers in the 2022 draft class. Whisenhunt is trying to block out all the hype heading into his junior season.
“I talk to scouts and answer their questions,” Whisenhunt said. “But once that is over, I put it in the back of my mind. The more I think about it, the harder I will be on myself and the more pressure I will put on myself. I just need to go out there and do what I need to do each weekend – compete and be that team guy.”
Whisenhunt was a weekend starter as a sophomore, when the Pirates went 44-17 and captured an NCAA Regional for the second straight year. The lefthander went 6-2 with a 3.77 ERA in 13 starts. He walked 22 and struck out 79 in 62 innings.
In 2022, the 6-3, 205-pound southpaw will be the Pirates’ No. 1 starter.
His fastball is consistently in the low-90s, but with his ton of physical gifts, it should climb to the mid-90s in due time. One major element that sets Whisenhunt apart is his low-80s changeup. Scouts rank his changeup as the best in the 2022 draft class. It has considerable movement and induces lots of swings and misses.
“Growing up, I always developed my changeup to be my out pitch,” he said. “I feel like my changeup has been a big separator for me.”