Signing Day for Walpole's Johnny Adams

Usually students are not allowed to wear hats in the library at Walpole High School.

An exception was made Wednesday, however, as Walpole senior Johnny Adams donned his Boston College hat and signed his letter of intent to play baseball next year for the Division I program.

A small Signing Day ceremony was held in the library where he announced where he would be attending college next fall and took pictures with family, friends, and teammates.

“I picked BC because overall it’s got a great combination of academics and their sports teams are really good, especially baseball,” Adams said.

The star shortstop also looked at Northeastern and Virginia Tech but decided Boston College was the right fit for him.

“I think it was because it’s close to home. I also looked at the conference they were in. They’re in the ACC (Atlantic Coast Conference), which is one of the best conferences in the country, so that was a big deciding factor and overall the coaches really showed well for me on the trip when I did my official and unofficial visit. I really liked them a lot and liked their plan going forward. So those were some deciding factors for me."

Adams said he believes his work ethic has gotten him to this point and will continue to benefit him in the future.

“I think my hard work and leadership, I’ve always been a hard worker throughout my career so if I just work hard I’ll let the rest play out,” he said.

While he was looking ahead today, Johnny still has some business to take care of at Walpole where he will be a captain for this year's varsity baseball squad. He will also be playing basketball this winter.

“I’ve made a lot of friends over the years, obviously coaches, so it’s been a great experience so far. I’ve still actually got a full year left in basketball and baseball so there’s a lot of work left to do,” he said.

Walpole Athletic Director Bill Thompkins was also in attendance for Signing Day and talked about Adams.

“We’re real proud of what he’s done. But as I told some people the other night that not only is John a good ball player but he’s a better person. And that's what it’s all about, that’s where we’re really proud to have good young men who play on the Walpole High baseball team and John certainly is one of those people," Thompkins said.

"We’re a small school that actually plays up in the high school from Division 2 to Division 1 and I’m always proud and we talk about it a lot in our team meetings and team discussions on how well it is to play the best in Division 1. He’ll be playing the best in Division I in college baseball and that’s really exciting. And the ACC is one of the top two or three conferences in the whole nation so he’s going to see some stiff competition but I’m sure he can equal the task and be very successful with it."