Pikeville, KY – UPIKE baseball has named Caleb Dotson as the recipient of the Joseph D. Valentino Memorial Scholarship. Dotson is the third player to receive the scholarship, which was created to honor the late Joe Valentino starting in the 2019-20 academic year.

Joe Valentino is a beloved figure in UPIKE Athletics and the community at large, spending three seasons as a pitcher on the baseball squad before starting nursing school at UPIKE while mentoring and coaching youth baseball in the area. In December of 2018, Valentino passed away due to injuries sustained in a tragic car accident, leaving behind his wife Hailey who served as assistant volleyball coach and his daughter, Mia, who grew up a part of the Bears family.

Valentino's family dedicated a yearly scholarship in his honor worth $2,500 to be given to either a junior college transfer from California or a high school player from eastern Kentucky.

Dotson, a freshman from Kimper, KY, joins Trae McLemore and Hayden Jung as recipients of the award. The Phelps High School graduate joins the UPIKE baseball roster for the upcoming 2022 campaign after a successful high school career that included a semifinal win over Pike County Central in which Dotson was the winning pitcher. He was named second team All-Mountain Baseball by Appalachian Newspapers Inc following his senior season.

Dotson enjoys hunting, fishing, working out, and spending time with his family. When asked his favorite quote he quoted Philippians 4:13 – " I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."