Joining Samuel Prater for his scholarship signing at Boskey’s are Front row(left to right) Lee Prater, dad, Samuel Prater, Tammie Prater, mom and Jacob Prater, brother. Back Row(left to right) Tony Wallingford, Milligan golf coach, Mike Ray, CHS golf coach and Lucky Knott, CHS assistant golf coach.
On Sunday, Samuel Prater became the 17th golfer in the last 11 years to sign a collegiate golf scholarship from Coffee County Central High School. Before family, friends, coaches and teammates, Prater signed to play golf for Milligan College at Boskey’s Restaurant. Milligan College is located in Elizabethton, Tennessee and competes in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), primarily competing in the Appalachian Athletic Conference. The Buffalos are coached by Tony Wallingford who is in his 27th season at the helm of Milligan Golf. Wallingford’s men’s teams have captured seven Appalachian Athletic Conference Championships, two NAIA Regional titles, and made two NAIA National Championship appearances.
When asked what drew him to Milligan, Prater said that he “got that feeling” on his official visit and knew Milligan was the school for him. Samuel loved the campus, facilities and the opportunity to “make a difference” for the golf team immediately. Prater plans to major in engineering in college.
Coach Wallingford began recruiting Prater in August and fell in love with Samuel as a player and a person. “We needed a special individual, a man with character and a great golfer. Samuel fills both of those qualities and we expect great things from him right away.”
Coach Mike Ray also expects Prater to make an immediate impact at Milligan because of his “drive to be perfect.” “Samuel is never satisfied and wants to work on everything with his game” said Ray. “Samuel was such a great influence on the younger players on our team. He is a great student and he takes no shortcuts to getting better” added Ray.
