Emerald baseball coach Stanley Moss called current College of Charleston infielder Bradley Dixon one of the better players and kids he's ever coached.

The former Emerald standout was a slick-fielding shortstop, according to Moss, who was a cornerstone to the Emerald program.

"He was one of my favorites of all time," Moss said. "He always did what he was asked to do and went above and beyond to try to represent our program."

Dixon shared the field with current Clemson commit Sheldon Reed, who was a year under him at Emerald. Having the two of them play together was a joy and pleasure to be a part of, Moss said.

"(Dixon) and Sheldon hit in the middle of our lineup the whole time," Moss said. "They were big producers for us offensively."

Dixon's dominant play at Emerald earned him an opportunity to play Division I baseball with the Cougars. Dixon's senior season at Emerald, College of Charleston made it to a Super Regional which was just the second appearance in the program's history.

"It's what you grow up dreaming to do, playing Division I baseball," Dixon said. "Whenever you get an opportunity to do it, you take it and make the best of it."

But dreams have sometimes been met with struggles for Dixon. His freshman year in 2015 a week before opening weekend he sprained his MCL, ACL and suffered a bone contusion, forcing him to redshirt.

The following season, though, Dixon's redshirt freshman campaign, everyone got a glimpse of what he could do on the ball field when he's healthy.

Dixon started 45 games and was fourth on the team in batting average hitting .273 with a homer. They weren't the most eye-popping stats, but they proved what he was worth when on the field.

His 2017 season, however, was met with more injuries. Dixon recently had to get stem cells taken from the bone marrow in his hip and injected into the sesamoid bones in both his feet.

All the cartilage had worn down, which meant Dixon didn't have any protection around his bones. He played through the injury the entire season, hitting just .251.

Moss believes he'll be a force again once healthy.

"Bradley's work ethic has always been where you would like to be," he said. "He's that kid in the offseason. Obviously if he can get himself completely healthy he's the kind of kid that can definitely go out and have a big year for College of Charleston."

The recovery time for his injury is 12 weeks, Dixon said, which means he'll be ready for the fall.

The team put together an underwhelming year last season, going just 13-11 in the Colonial Athletic Association, 28-31 overall and losing to Northeastern in the conference tournament.

On top of that, College of Charleston's coach, Matt Heath, was fired on Friday.

Despite the setbacks, Dixon is looking help right the ship.

"I really want to increase some of the numbers I had last year," Dixon said. "And just do better for my teammates, know my role and do whatever I can to help us win."

Contact staff writer Julian McWilliams at 864-223-1814 or on Twitter @JulianMack105

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Former Emerald standout eyes next season - Index-Journal