Providence Grove kicker and Uwharrie Charter baseball star commit to colleges for next fall

Different sports. The same domination. 

Providence Grove High School’s Carson Jones, one of the top kickers in the nation, and Uwharrie Charter Academy baseball star Jake Hunter have decided on where they will continue their academic and athletic careers. 

Jones will head to Liberty University for football and Hunter to Western Carolina for baseball. Both will enter their respective colleges in the fall. 

For Jones, LIberty was always the place he hoped would offer him a scholarship. 

“It was really nice, that was the offer I wanted to get,” said Jones, whose brothers and father all attended Liberty. “I went to all their camps, trying to get it and (last week), the coach just called me out of the blue and offered.”

Jones has been all around the Southeast, attending camps in Tennessee and at Coastal Carolina as well as UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, Wake Forest, NC State and East Carolina. 

“Just the atmosphere and the coaches are really good,” Jones said of reasons for picking Liberty. “They want the best for you.” 

After kicking a 52-yard field goal as a freshman for the jayvee team, he and Tucker Batten shared kicking duties on the varsity when he was a sophomore. As a junior, he was 18 of 23 in PATs and 4 of 8 in field goals with a long of 51 yards. 

In his senior year, he was 35 of 37 in the PAT department and 12 of 18 in field goals with a long of 47. He also averaged 45.5 yards per punt this past season. 

“Just how we ended as a team,” Jones said of his fondest memory while playing at PG. “There was personal stuff, but how we were 3-7 last year and went 8-3 this year was a big improvement. Being a part of the first conference championship for Providence Grove.” 

Liberty has two returning kickers, but the starter will graduate. Jones said Liberty is planning on bringing in another transfer kicker and all will be competing for the starting position. 

Jones, who also received offers from Coastal Carolina, Campbell and Division II schools Wingate and Barton, will also be competing for the starting punting position at Liberty. 

Hunter, a two-time NCHSAA state tournament most valuable player for the three-time state 1-A champion Eagles, shines brightest under the brightest lights. For the third straight year in 2025, Hunter was on the mound for a complete-game state tournament-clinching win. He held Perquimans to just five hits in a 6-0 win, giving UCA victories in the final two games of the best-of-three series. 

Hunter capped an impressive freshman campaign with an 8-1 complete-game win over North Moore as the Eagles captured the 2023 title. He then hurled a complete-game 6-1 win over Northside-Pinetown to give the Eagles a sweep in the 2024 state championship series. 

This past year, he spent most of his time at the top of the batting order and at shortstop. He finished this past season 4-4 on the mound.