This article was taken from the Sun Journal. Baseball Factory wishes Ben  the best of luck at Wallace State.

Being selected for the Baseball Factory All-American team had a hidden advantage for New Bern’s Ben Fuller — a chance to further his career.

While Fuller spent a few days in Vero Beach, Fla. — the spring training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers — Mac Seideit, a scout for the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, saw potential in the Bears catcher.

Seideit then recommended Fuller to his former coach, Randy Puttman at Wallace State College and without having seen him, Puttman was ready to bring Fuller aboard his program without having seen him play.

“It’s a pretty good feeling that that scout and that coach had that good of a relationship,” said Fuller, who signed with Wallace State Friday morning with his parents, Rubert and Debbie, looking on.

Puttman expects Fuller to have an immediate impact on the Lions baseball team.

“We’re very excited about Ben,” said Puttman from his office in Hanceville, Ala. — home of the Lions. “He’s an excellent catcher … and we expect him to be a major player for us when he steps on campus.”

After Fuller completes his two years at Wallace State, he says he has his sights set on being drafted by the major leagues or returning to North Carolina to attend a four-year college.

And if Puttman’s track record is any indication, the future is bright for Fuller. The Wallace State coach said that this is his 15th season with the Lions and of all the players he has coached, all but seven have gone to a four-year school.

Now that Fuller has signed, he says can focus solely on the Bears baseball season and try and improve his stats.

“Have a higher batting average than I did before. I didn’t hit that well last year,” said Fuller, who serves as a cameraman for the morning show AM Scuttlebutt. “Just to relax and have fun. Once I signed, it took a lot of weight off my shoulders ’cause now I know I’m going somewhere next year and I can just relax and play.”

Puttman plans to work with Fuller in all aspects of the game, but says he does pretty well helping players at the plate.

And in Fuller, he sees a player with a great future offensively.

“He has the potential to be a great hitter,” said the Wallace State coach.

To make the transition away from home easier on his players, Puttman said that foster families are set up to take the players in their homes and help them ease into life at the school.

That is something that Fuller is looking forward to.

“It makes me feel better that I’ll have a good, home cooked meal every once in a while,” he said. “I can’t cook the best in the world.”

Fuller has worked hard during this past offseason to improve his offensive production and that has not been lost on New Bern baseball coach Gary Smith.

“He’s put in a lot of work to get where he is now,” said Smith. “He’s going into college better prepared what to expect.”