Athletics and the Alford family go hand in hand, so it is no surprise that Trey Gregory-Alford has turned into a standout athlete in his own right. That said, the sport in which he stars isn’t the one his family is known for. While his dad, Robert Alford, played pro tennis, football is the sport with plenty of history in the family. Trey’s grandfather, Bob Alford, played for Kent State before a brief stint with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Trey’s uncle, Tony Alford, was a Doak Walker Award nominee as one of the best running backs in the country while he was at Colorado State. He is now the Assistant Head Coach for Offence at Ohio State.

Gregory-Alford has the body to play football, standing 6’5” and weighing in at 235 pounds, but instead he puts that body to work as one of the more intimidating high school pitchers in the country. The summer before senior year is as busy a summer as any for the top baseball players in the country, and that certainly was no different for the Coronado High School righty.

He really jumped onto the map at the 2023 PG National at Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks. While he only got to pitch one inning at the event, he became the buzz of the scouting community when he whipped a sinking fastball as fast as 97 MPH in that inning. That earned him an invite to the Perfect Game All-American Classic as well as Team USA’s 18U National team camp ahead of the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup.

Not only did Gregory-Alford perform well enough at the tryouts to make the team, he did so as the team’s closer. When talking about his mentality as a closer he said, “closing wise, it doesn’t really get better, something about that feeling to get those last three outs!”

There was some stress beyond trying to make the team though, as he had not been out of the country since 5^th grade and had an expired passport going into the summer. The World Cup was taking place in Taiwan, but luckily, his ascension to national team level was not something that was a surprise for him, and his renewed passport did arrive just before the training camp started.

The USA wound up finishing in fourth place, falling to South Korea in the Bronze Medal Game, but Gregory-Alford once again shined bright when on the mound. Pitching in six innings over four games, tallying three saves while only allowing two hits and no runs.

Not only did Gregory-Alford step on the mound with USA on his chest, but he did so with the Colorado flag on his glove. When asked why he said, “I don’t know if it is because we get overlooked…I just like to wear the Colorado flag to show people I am from Colorado.”

The accolades and recognition did not end after the summer, as he just wrapped up an appearance at the Area Codes Select Game, which came just a week after he reached triple digits with his fastball for the first time, then followed it up by putting up a 101 on the radar gun. He plans to attend the University of Virginia next year…if he doesn’t turn pro.

• Colorado Spotlight
• HS Baseball