The scouts wanted more from Gunnar Alm.
A Polk County mid-week game at The Bottoms had just ended with a Wolverine loss, and the professional scouts in attendance decided they hadn’t seen enough from the player they’d come to see. So they asked Alm to step back onto the field, to take some extra hitting practice while they watched and clocked and measured.
Still present in the stands were opposing fans, and they quickly seized the moment.
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“What’s the matter,” they taunted. “Didn’t get enough from us?”
Alm stepped into the batter’s box, ignoring the jeers. After all, he too has always wanted more – more for himself, more for his family, more for the community he dearly loves.
Alm sent one ball into the night. And another. And another.
The scouts took notes.
The fans went home.
Alm kept swinging.
Never enough.
The best baseball career in Polk County history may have started in a small house in Sunny View.
True to his New York roots, Billy Alm has been a lifelong Yankees fan. So when the Yanks were on the field, a TV was usually on in the Alm house, Billy monitoring every inning.
Between innings meant stepping outside with ball, bat and son.
“We’d watch the Yankees, Derek Jeter and all those guys, and in between innings, on the breaks, we would go outside and play,” Gunnar Alm recalled. “From there, it just kind of blossomed into being something that I really love to do.”
As years passed and balls flew farther, Billy Alm began to realize he might have a budding star in the yard. As Gunnar joined travel clubs and began playing with kids from other states, he became more certain.
“Just watching him swing, watching his work ethic – going outside at night when we had no idea where he was and he was underneath the light in the yard, hitting into the net,” Billy Alm said. “Just watching him out there with eight-year-olds, because he played 8U major and we played all over the Southeast, and he was one of the best kids all the time out there.
“Definitely at eight years old, I realized he was different than everybody else.”
That realization led to the Alm family going all in on Gunnar’s baseball future. Parents. Grandparents. Gunnar’s younger sister, Kenzie – all became part of shaping the journey.
“We started traveling a lot, and with my parents being teachers, it was tough financially,” Gunnar said. “So my grandparents helped out a lot.
“But they were like, ‘if you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do it.’ So I decided to do it and I haven’t looked back.”
Nor has he ever second-guessed a childhood spent primarily on the baseball field.
“Not one regret,” Gunnar said. “I’ve loved every second of that. Really, my whole childhood was doing that, and I wouldn’t change it for a thing.
“I don’t think I missed out on anything. It was what I wanted to do. And my parents said, ‘If you want to do it, we’re going to do everything we can in our ability to get you to where you want to be.’ And they have.”
The walls of Polk County’s practice facility tell a story of their own.
Team records line those walls, and Gunnar Alm’s name sits atop most. He holds 10 career records and should finish with three more. Most of those fell by his junior season and now seem well beyond reach.
His achievements have not been limited to Polk County.
Alm enters the playoffs tied with Terry Sanford’s Josh Mozingo for the most career runs in state history with 150. His 111 career stolen bases are just four shy of the mark set last season by North Mecklenburg’s Ryan Clark.
Alm has moved into the top 50 all-time in hits with 116. There is no state record for walks, but he has 105 of those.
That’s triple digits in runs, hits, walks and stolen bases, numbers that coaches dream of from their leadoff hitter.
“(Assistant coach Josh Money) and I sit together every game and talk about it. Just when we think he does something great, it’s kind of like we ask ourselves, what’s he going to do next?” Billy Alm said. “And he’s done it all.”
Gunnar has tried not to keep up with the records or numbers, especially as the growing totals have garnered more media attention. Statistics are not part of what drives him to excel.
“To be honest, what keeps me really going is the fact that if I have a bad game today, I’m going to be able to come out tomorrow, work my tail off and play the next day,” he said. “The next game keeps me going. In the offseason, for example, I’m working my tail off because I want to have a hell of a year. I want to win.
“Just wanting to win and make everybody around here proud is really what keeps me going in school ball. Obviously, in summer ball, when there are a couple hundred scouts packed in the stands, that’ll get your blood flowing. But really, just loving the game and wanting to do well is what motivates me.”
Gunnar Alm never wanted to be anything but a Polk County Wolverine.
That dream began with a small blonde kid playing in the dirt at The Bottoms. It grew when Billy Alm became Polk County’s head coach in 2017 and Gunnar became a constant presence around the program. Older players such as Holden Owens and Nick Capozzi became role models, and to emulate them meant putting Polk County across his chest, too.
No matter what travel team jerseys he wore or what cities and states he visited, Gunnar only cared about putting on one jersey.
That loyalty has been tested often over the years. There have been quiet suggestions of transfer options. There have been open job offers from larger schools for both Billy and Brandy Alm, Gunnar’s mother and Polk County’s head girls basketball coach. The family could have relocated, likely for higher-paying jobs.
Except there never really was any type of test.
“It never crossed my mind why you would ever want to leave your hometown that has loved you forever and go play somewhere else,” Gunnar said. “This is where I’ve always wanted to play. I’m super grateful for everything this place has ever brought to me, and it’s something that you really can’t explain – how good it is here. The hometown feeling. My parents work here. The principals and staff are awesome. The teachers are awesome. It’s the best.
“I’ve never understood the point of going somewhere else and trying to win a state championship when you can work your tail off and try to win it here. Because if you go somewhere else and you win a state championship where you’re not living, I don’t get the point of it. You want to win where you’re at.”
Prior to this season, Polk County’s last winning campaign came in 2021, its last conference title in 2019. The Wolverines accomplished both this season – a 15-9 mark and a Western Highlands Conference crown heading into the playoffs. Billy Alm talked repeatedly throughout the season about wanting his senior class, Gunnar included, to experience that success, and to do so has added extra meaning to what will be the final season of father coaching son.
Both say the time together has been more than worth it.
“It’s been an absolute roller coaster because of all the work he puts in and the hours we spend here,” Billy Alm said. “It’ll be a lot of free time for me when he goes off to college or gets drafted or whatever happens. But obviously, as a parent and a coach, you want that type of kid on your team.”
“There’s been ups and there’s been downs, a lot of downs, but I’d say there have been more ups,” Gunnar Alm said. “He’s always been real hard on me, and I’m really thankful for that. He started [coaching here] about nine or ten years ago, when I was this tall. It’s something that I’ve always wanted to do – play for him and put Polk County on my chest since I was that old.
“Seeing the guys like Holden and Nick and all those guys that I still talk to this day – it’s something they did, and it’s something that I just want to follow in their footsteps, make everybody around here proud, and make him proud.”
The Polk County connection has extended to Gunnar’s professional dreams. Former Wolverine great Joel Booker was chosen in the 22nd round of the 2016 Major League draft and spent five seasons in the Chicago White Sox minor league system, reaching the Triple-A level. The Alms attended several of Booker’s games when he played in the Carolinas, and Booker has kept the connection with the family as Gunnar has grown.
“Joel is one of my mentors,” Gunnar said. “He played really well here, went to (junior college) and played really well, went to Iowa and played really well, then played in the minors. I call him pretty much after every game and tell him what I’m feeling. He’ll tell me, very directly, what he thinks, what I need to do better. Sometimes I’ll even get a ‘good job,’ but most of the time I won’t. He’s been awesome.
“Over the years I’ve played with and against so many guys, and a few of them have already cracked the big leagues, so that’s crazy. It gives you a sense of urgency – not to be satisfied with where you’re at, because compared to where they’re at, it’s nothing right now. I say it all the time – be where your feet are. Just grind and keep going. I want to be in their shoes.”
It may have been midnight following a long ride home from a road trip, but the lights inside Polk County’s practice facility flicked on.
A familiar thwack, thwack, thwack echoed throughout as Gunnar Alm searched for any flaws in his swing.
It wasn’t anything unusual.
“If he didn’t like the way the swing felt, we might be here till 12:30 at night, swinging until his swing feels good, and then we go home,” Billy Alm said.
“He’s definitely his biggest critic. We break down film of his swing day in and day out. It’s kind of a love-hate relationship between us sometimes. He expects perfection every time he goes out. I’ve almost gotten to the point where I expect him to do certain things and I lose the fact that he’s still a dang kid. It happens to me, too. But he’s definitely his biggest critic.”
In his early seasons at Polk, Gunnar often loudly vented his frustrations in the dugout. When results were not what he wanted, anger usually followed, complete with shouting and the occasional thrown object. His emotions ran high enough that even success brought displays – he slammed a bat so hard to the ground following one leadoff homer that it flipped halfway toward first base.
His senior season has seen none of that. Gunnar has remained on an even keel throughout the year, knowing he is a focal point not only for opponents, but for younger teammates.
“A lot of that is trying to be a leader for everybody around,” he said. “I’ve been known in recent years for coming in the dugout and crashing out, you could say. I’m still not perfect on that, but I try to keep everything PG and let my anger out in a different way rather than crashing out in the dugout.
“It’s growing emotionally and realizing that it’s baseball – you’re going to fail. Like last night, I struck out two times. It is what it is; I get to play today. It’s learning to not take the roller coaster up and down and just stay even through it all.”
Scouts have been a constant presence in Gunnar’s life this spring – at games, practices, even calling the Alm home while passing through Polk County to ask to stop by. It’s been a nonstop reminder of the high stakes in the months leading to the July draft.
Gunnar has learned to handle the extra eyes on his performances, to focus on his own expectations and not theirs.
“When you get out on the field, you don’t really feel the scouts,” he said. “It’s more of a thing talking to them before the game. One thing I’ve worked on this year is trying to hustle and play like they’re not there. I wouldn’t say I’d want them gone.”
Sheep. Cows. Gunnar Alm.
Major League scouts have encountered each during their visits to The Bottoms, many chuckling at the school farm that sits across the parking lot from the first-base line. The scouts are easy to spot at Polk County games – stopwatches and cell phones in hand. No doubt more than a few phone calls have begun with “You won’t believe what’s next to this field.”
“They come out and they’re like, ‘Wow, you have a farm on the school.’ ” Gunnar laughed. “It’s pretty cool having them meet everybody – my parents, my grandparents, all the coaches. I’ve loved that. Now there’s a little added pressure, but honestly, they’ve seen you play so much, they’re not really scouting based on results anymore. It’s more about tools – have you grown, have you gotten bigger, stronger, faster, stuff like that.”
Gunnar has done just that. After working to add weight since last fall, he opened his senior season around 180 pounds, helping him produce a career-high 10 home runs while also swiping a personal-best 32 bases. Those 10 homers are third-best this season in North Carolina.
That combination of speed and power has drawn many scouts to Columbus. Those factors also caught the eye of coaches at North Carolina State, where Gunnar committed to play as a sophomore. He remained true to that decision, signed with the Wolfpack in November and is scheduled to report to campus in June.
Whether he’ll stay there for the full year depends on whether any Major League team decides to call his name in this year’s draft – and how high they do so.
Baseball America ranks Gunnar among the top 300 draft-eligible players in the country and 115th among high school prospects. The publication’s draft expert, Carlos Collazo, describes him as “polarizing” for many teams.
“Gunnar has an impressive power/speed combo that’s going to give him a lot of upside potential if he’s able to continue making strides as a pure hitter,” Collazo said. “He’s a good runner who should be able to create value as a hitter and baserunner with his legs, and also cover plenty of ground in the outfield with a chance to stick in center field and be a good defender.
“His pure hitting ability will be the big question. There are some bigger moves to his swing, and against better competition last summer he had more swing and miss tendencies than scouts would like to see. Because of that, there are definitely teams who would prefer to see him prove his hitting chops and continue to improve as a hitter in college, while others might be more interested to take a shot on that power/speed combination straight out of high school.”
Worrying about his draft stock and the scouts in the stands affected Gunnar’s play at the start of this season. He began the year just 6-for-19, striking out six times in the first six games after recording just nine strikeouts all of last season.
But a family friend who works for one of the pro organizations had lunch with Gunnar, offering sage advice that helped him turn around his senior season. That perspective was simple – no matter what happens this summer, the outcome is a good one.
“With how NIL (name, image and likeness) works and all that stuff these days – it complicates everything,” Gunnar said. “If you get (a contract you want from being drafted), you’re going. And if not, you go to school, hopefully for two years, work on a degree and give yourself a better chance at that year’s draft. Either way, it’s a win-win.
“That’ll take some pressure off me, because at the end of the day it’s a good situation either way. I was struggling to start the season, and I had lunch with a guy I can’t name, but he helped me out a ton. He said, ‘I’ve seen this in every high school senior at times. It’s called draft-itis, and you’ve got to work your way out of it.’ I’d say I’ve worked my way out of it now. It’s still in the back of your mind sometimes, but it’s a win-win either way. He made me realize that.
“Once he told me, I knew he’d seen it before, and he’s right. I’ve got to take it day by day and be okay with either outcome.”
Gunnar plans to major in business at N.C. State and would like to open baseball practice facilities once his playing career ends. “Hopefully, that’s 20 years from now,” he grinned.
“The pressure that I put on myself is more than whatever pressure somebody else would put on me. Everybody expects a lot out of me, but whatever they expect out of me, I expect even more.”
Youth baseball players filled the home dugout at The Bottoms and spilled onto the field, many looking to find Gunnar Alm.
It was Youth Night at Polk County, with players from Polk County Youth Baseball joining Wolverine varsity players on the field for pre-game introduction. Several, as they waited, asked for a photo with Gunnar.
It was a full-circle moment for Billy Alm.
“I heard him tell somebody the other day that when he was four or five years old, those guys out here on the field were his heroes, throwing to him before games,” Billy Alm said. “He wanted to be those guys. And here he is, senior year.”
Alm’s senior season is nearing its end. The state playoffs begin Tuesday, and the next loss will be Gunnar’s last time in a Polk County uniform. Wearing that uniform – and the bonds he’s built with his teammates while doing so – those are the things he’ll remember most.
“My favorite thing, and this might sound weird, my favorite thing has been going out to eat and hanging out with the guys before and after the games,” Gunnar said. “That’s probably the best part. My sophomore year was a ton of fun. A lot of my best friends were on that team. Those times were always awesome.”
It’s also off the field where Gunnar hopes he’s most left his mark.
“I hope people remember me as a person, not really an athlete,” he said. “Because at the end of the day, I’m just like everybody else. I just want them to remember me as a good dude – somebody who’d give you the shirt off his back.”
Whether he makes the majors or not, whether he stars at N.C. State or not, one thing is certain.
For Polk County baseball, Gunnar Alm has done enough.
