Lance J. Surridge
Men's Basketball/Baseball (1994-1996)
All-Region IV (baseball) and All-ISCC (basketball and baseball)
Waubonsee’s Male Athlete of the Year in 1996
University of North Carolina-Greensboro baseball scholarship
Selected twice in the Major League Baseball draft
Lance J. Surridge always seemed to perform best when it mattered most. However, his quiet demeanor often belied his penchant for being an intense competitor and clutch performer. A 1994 graduate of Milwaukee’s Lutheran High School, Surridge arrived at Waubonsee as an unknown. By the time he departed two years later, the secret was out on the standout two-sport athlete.
Surridge earned All-Skyway Conference honors both on the baseball field and basketball court his sophomore year. He set a Waubonsee baseball record with a 20-game hitting streak that season, won 13 games as a pitcher in two seasons and still holds the college’s career record with 102 games played. Surridge was also named All-Region IV on the diamond that year while leading the Chiefs to a second-place finish at the 1996 NJCAA Division III World Series. Surridge was chosen as Waubonsee’s Male Athlete of the Year for 1995-96 and represented the Chiefs at the Region IV All-Star game. He performed in the classroom as well, earning Skyway All-Academic honors his sophomore year.
Surridge transferred to the University of North Carolina-Greensboro on an NCAA Division I baseball scholarship. He batted well over .300 both seasons and set the Spartans’ school-record for strikeouts in a season as a pitcher his junior year. Surridge was selected by the Baltimore Orioles in that spring’s Major League Baseball Draft, and subsequently was chosen in the 15th round by the Boston Red Sox following his senior season. Surridge went on to play professional minor league baseball for 4 years.
Surridge has since applied his skills in other areas by taking an active role with Habitat for Humanity, helping build homes for the less fortunate in southwestern Michigan. He also spent a year as an assistant basketball coach at the University of Dayton, and two years as the Flyers’ Director of Basketball Operations. Surridge is currently employed by the Whirlpool Corporation and lives in St. Joseph, Michigan.