Nansemond-Suffolk Academy alumnus Dominick Claxton was named USA South Rookie of the Year.

Dominick Claxton, a freshman outfielder for Ferrum College, recently won the rookie of the year award in the conference. Not only was he the Rookie of the Year, but also he was named second team All-Conference.

Claxton is the third Panther ever to receive Rookie of the Year honors. He is currently enjoying a season in which he had 21 stolen bases with a batting average of .310. So far this season, he has 36 hits and 31 runs, which are among the top 12 in the conference. In conference play, he was tied for first place for 22 runs.

The Ferrum freshman found out the news when some of his teammates came knocking on his hotel door on a recent road trip. When he opened his door, his teammates immediately jumped on him congratulating. Initially, it didn’t hit him, but shortly after he was overjoyed.

Personally, Claxton felt his season went really well.

“Going into the season, I wanted to steal the most bases and just to get better every day,” he said. “I knew it would be an adjustment period from high school to college, so I just wanted to relax and not let any moment be too big for me.”

Claxton believes the more games he played this season, the more comfortable he got. At the same time, he believed that he could produce on the college level.

“I have been preparing for this all my life,” he said. “It was just a matter of staying within myself. I give God credit for everything that has happened to me.”

Receiving the accolades he has gotten has motivated Claxton big time. He feels the summer will be critical in his developmental process. One day, he hopes to compete on the professional level.

Claxton has already thought about what he wants to accomplish next year. He wants to break the single-season steals record at Ferrum, to win a conference championship and to improve as a player and teammate.

One of his favorite moments of the season came when he hit a grand-slam home run against Hampden-Sydney College. In his senior year at Nansemond-Suffolk Academy, Claxton was a first-team All-TCIS performer.