THE OFFICIAL ATHLETICS SITE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH ALABAMA LIONS

Will Batson pitched for the North Alabama baseball team for one season, in 2007, but really made his mark with the Lions as a kicker and punter on UNA football teams from 2006-09. The Killen, Ala., native, has gone on to a successfull career as a political consultant in Washington, D.C. 


On the baseball diamond, Batson made six appearances with four starts for the UNA baseball team as a freshman and had a 4.38 ERA over 12.1 innings pitched. 


On the football field, Batson was a four-year letterman and three-year starter who became a two-time All-American. After punting just once as a freshman in 2006, he took over as a starter in 2007 and would eventually close his career with 141 punts for a 40.8 average. As a sophomore he averaged 39.0 yards on 30 punts would average 41.2 as a junior, earning first-team All-American honors by the American Football Coaches Association, second-team by  Daktronics,  third-team by the Associated Press, and honorable mention by the Football Gazette, and D2football.com. He was selected second-team All-Gulf South Conference, first-team Daktronics All-Super Region 2 and second-team Football Gazette All-Super Region 2. He had 13 punts of over 50 yards and had 14 punts downed inside the opposing team’s 20-yard line in 2008.


As a senior in 2009 he was again a first-team All-American pick by Daktronics and D2Football.com , and a third-team selection by the Associated Press. He was a first-team All-Region pick by Daktronics and second-team by Football Gazette. He earned first-team All-GSC honors as well as Academic All-GSC, ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District IV and ESPN The Magazine second-team Academic All-America®. He punted 57 times for a 41.6 average and a long of 70 yards. 


UNA went 44-7 in Batson's four years on the football team and advanced to the NCAA DIvision II Playoffs four straight times. They rank as the third winningest senior class in school history. That group was also one of just two senior classes to win at least 10 games in all four seasons of their collective careers. 


Following his graduation from UNA in 2010 with a B.B.A in Economics and Finance, he had NFL opportunities with the Arizona Cardinals and Tennessee Titans. he also performed stunt work for kicking scenes in movies such as Woodlawn and Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk. 


Batson has worked in Washington, D.C. since 2015, initially serving as a legislative clerk for the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. From 2017-19 he was a legislative assistant to U.S. Senator Luther Strange of Alabama. He then served as a legislative assistant in the office of U.S. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, where he assisted with energy, environment, transportation, and agriculture issues. He is currently a consultant working with the National Republican Congressional Committee.  


In 2019, he earned an MBA from the Raymond A. Mason School of Business at The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.