Walker Jenkins’ lifelong baseball dream becomes reality in the MLB

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WWAY) — A lifelong baseball dream is now reality for Brunswick County native Walker Jenkins. The 21-year-old former South Brunswick High School star made his MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins last month, a moment his parents say was years in the making.

“Just overwhelmed with joy and just pride and just so happy for him and then I was just ready to start planning how we were gonna get there,” Walker’s mother, Tana Jenkins, said.

Not long after getting the call, Jenkins recorded his first major league hit, a single, with his parents in the ballpark to see it. Three days later, he added another milestone with his first MLB home run, a 388-foot, two-run shot off a position-player pitcher.

“We talked to him after the fact, and he was more nervous, I think, about the fact that it was like a 37 mile per hour pitch, and he was like, ‘I’m worried I’m gonna strike out against this guy, versus an actual big league pitcher.’ But it was still awesome nonetheless to get that first big moment,” Tana Jenkins said.

For the Jenkins family, Walker’s rise to the majors began long before he joined the Twins. His father, Clay Jenkins, said Walker had his sights set on baseball from a young age.

“It’s what he’s expected of himself since he was seven years old. He’s been very driven from an early age and a lot of people talk about the sacrifices he’s made and the birthday parties and activities that he didn’t do, but he never saw it that way,” Clay Jenkins said. “I heard him talking in an interview one time and he said, ‘But I would rather be playing baseball than doing those things.’ He was always doing what he wanted to do and chasing that dream.”

Jenkins played baseball at South Brunswick High School before the Twins selected him fifth overall in the 2023 MLB Draft. From there, he worked his way through the minor leagues before earning his first opportunity in the majors.

“You could see he had a special gift, and he worked really hard at it,” Tana Jenkins said.

Now, the dream his family watched him chase growing up is playing out on baseball’s biggest stage. Clay Jenkins said the support for his son has extended throughout the Cape Fear.

“End of the season in the majors, I hope he stays healthy. Hope he figures it out, makes some really good friends that he can lean on for support,” he said. “Support from the local community, whether that’s Wilmington or Leland or Oak Island, Brunswick County in general, has been phenomenal. Just the congratulatory comments and text messages and phone calls, it’s shocking how many people are rooting for him.”

Jenkins is already making an impact in his first stretch in the majors, recording four hits, five RBIs, a home run and a stolen base. Back home in Brunswick County, plenty of people can say they watched his journey begin long before he reached the big leagues.