Career: Played in 225 career games with 208 starts, batting .325 over the past five years … Recorded 274 base hits including 38 doubles, 12 triples, and three home runs … Scored 157 runs with 116 career RBI.
2022 (Senior): Started each of the 57 games that he saw action including 39 games at second base, 17 games at first base, and once at third base … Batted .332 on the season with 79 hits in 238 at-bats, collecting a career-high 17 doubles, matched his career-best with three triples, and hit two home runs … Scored a career-best 49 runs and drove home a career-high 45 runs including 17 two-out RBI … Finished second on the team with 23 multiple-hit games and was tied for second with 11 multiple-RBI outings … Recorded a nine-game hitting streak and reached base safely in 17-straight games on the season, the second-longest streak on the team ... Was named second-team All-Southern Confernece at second base by the league's head coaches … Matched his career-high with four base hits three times including the season-opener against Niagara (Feb. 18), UT Martin (March 19), Presbyterian (April 27), and Mercer (May 6) … Drew a career-high-tying three walks twice … Named a preseason first-team All-Southern Conference selection by the league's head coaches.
2021 (Junior*): Played in 46 games with 37 starts including 18 starts as the designated hitter, 10 at second base, seven at third base, and two in right field … Batted a career-best .395 on the season with 66 hits including a team-best 58 singles, five doubles and three triples … Had 18 multiple-hit games and nine multiple RBI games … Finished the regular season hitting .404 going into the conference tournament … Led the team with a .403 batting average with runners in scoring position, tallying a team-best 27 base hits … Also had a team-high three pinch hits … Added 18 walks and a pair of HBPs to bolster his .457 on-base percentage … Named first team All-Southern Conference as the designated hitter by both the league’s head coaches and voting media … Collected a career-high four hits three times on the season including a 4-for-5, four RBI effort against The Citadel (March26), four hits at Wofford (April 2), and four hits with a double against nationally-ranked Tennessee (April 13) … Put together a career-long 14-game hitting streak from mid-April through early-May and reached base safely in 23-straight games during the season … Drove in three runs in a 2-for-5 effort against VMI (April 11) … Collected five hits in the SoCon Tournament including a pair of two-hit games with a 2-for-3, two RBI effort against Samford (May 28) and a 2-for-5 showing with a double against Wofford (May 29); Summer 2021: Played in 35 games for the Waynesboro (Va.) Generals of the Valley Baseball League ... Batted .276 (29-of-105) with three doubles and a home run ... Scored 15 runs while driving in 10, adding 10 stolen bases ... Hit .400 in the playoffs for the Generals (10-for-25) with a pair of extra base hits.
2020 (Junior): Played in 15 games with 14 starts at second base … Hit .321 with 17 hits including four for extra bases – two doubles and two triples – with four RBI and nine runs scored … Recorded five, two-hit games … Had a long hitting streak of five-straight games … Drew four walks … Recorded 29 putouts and 43 assists in the field and was a part of turning 12 double-plays … Playing in three games in the season-opening four-game series with Chicago State, finished 5-for-11 (.455) … Season shortened because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the cancellation of spring sports in mid-March.
2019 (Sophomore): Played in all 53 of the team’s games with 52 starts including 42 starts at second base and 10 at shortstop … Batted .282 on the year with 58 hits including 14 for extra bases including 10 doubles, three triples and a home run … Finished the season with 19 multiple-hit games and five multi-RBI outings … Enjoyed a career-long, 8-game hitting streak in early March, accumulating seven, multi-hit games during that stretch … Tallied a career-high three hits four times – three during the eight-game hitting streak … Doubled twice in the season-opener against Oakland (Feb. 15) … Tallied two hits including a double in the home win over Elon (March 15) … Legged out a run-scoring triple in the home win over Wofford (April 6) … Belted his first collegiate home run against VMI (April 27) … Finished 4-for-12 (.333) with four RBI to earn SoCon All-Tournament Team honors at second base.
2018 (Freshman): Played in 55 of the team’s 58 games on the season with 49 starts in the infield including 38 at second base and 11 at shortstop … Finished the year with a .293 batting average, collecting 54 hits in 184 plate appearances … Had five extra-base hits including four doubles and a triple … Drew 18 walks against 49 strikeouts … Made his collegiate debut as a pinch hitter in the season-opener at East Carolina (Feb. 16) … Collected his first career base hit as a part of the first multi-hit game of his career in the series finale at ECU (Feb. 18), finishing 2-for-2 in a pinch-hit / defensive substitution role … Made his first career start in the home-opener against Morehead State (Feb. 20), tallying his second-straight multi-hit game in a 2-for-3 showing at the plate while starting at shortstop … Finished rookie season with 17 multiple hit games … Tallied his first extra-base hit with a double as a part of a two-hit outing against nationally-ranked Kentucky (April 11) … Tallied a double and a triple in the series against ETSU in Cullowhee … Was a part of turning a team-high 23 double-plays in the infield this season ... Named to the 2018 Southern Conference All-Freshman team; Summer League: Played in 27 games for the Lake Erie Monarchs of the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League … Finished second on the team with a .314 batting average, collecting 32 hits in 102 at-bats with five doubles and a home run adding 12 walks … Drove in five runs while scoring a team-high 26 runs … Stole six bases.
Prior to Western Carolina: Multi-sport athlete who pitched and played the infield in high school ... Two-time all-region as an infielder, collecting all-state honors a senior ... Was tabbed the region player of the year as a senior ... Also played basketball as a prep, averaging nearly 15 points per game as a senior.
Personal: Full name is William Michael Prater ... Is the son of Lisa and Sam Prater ... Has a sister, Sarah ... His father, Sam, played college golf at Kennesaw State.
Career Game Highs:
- At Bats: 6, six times (MR: ETSU, 4/9/22)
- Hits: 4, seven times (MR: MERCER, 5/6/22)
- Runs: 4, MERCER (5/6/22)
- Doubles: 2, twice (MR: vs. Xavier, 4/1/22)
- Triples: 1, 12 times (MR: SAMFORD, 4/15/22)
- RBI: 4, twice (MR: SAMFORD, 4/14/22)
- Walks: 3, twice (MR: SAMFORD, 4/19/22)
- Hitting Streak: 14 games (4/11/21 - 5/7/21)
