Derek Melton is a 2005 graduate of Edgewood High School.
As a four-year Varsity Baseball starter, Derek played multiple positions before settling in as the starting catcher. Derek was consistently one of the team’s best hitters and during his sophomore season, hit .507 with 37 hits, 22 walks, 8 Homeruns and 34 RBIs. He had an on-base percentage of .544. Derek has multiple hitting records for Edgewood and is in the top 5 for others, including 8 homeruns in a season and 22 walks in a season. He had a career total of 125 hits, 15 Homeruns, 46 Walks and 85 career RBIs. Derek was also a three-year Varsity starter in football leading his team to multiple MML championships. He was part of the 2003 team that went on to win the Regional Championship and play for the State Championship where he had a 52-yard reception to start off the State Championship game. Derek had a career total of 177 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 3 fumbles recovering and 2 interceptions. He had a total of 33 catches for 581 yards and 6 Touchdowns. Derek went on to Wabash Community College to play Baseball and played his freshmen and sophomore seasons there. During his sophomore season he hit .376 with 65 hits, 15 doubles, 11 homeruns and 62 RBIs. After the season, Derek transferred to Division 1 Evansville where he majored in business and played his junior year baseball season, receiving All-Conference honors. Derek was selected to play in the Northwoods Collegiate Summer Baseball League in the Midwest. Derek again excelled during the summer season and was selected as the team’s MVP as well as Northwoods Summer League All-Star. Derek's baseball career was cut short after suffering a neck injury during a swimming incident. For five years following his accident, he participated in spinal cord research at the Christopher Reeves Foundation in Louisville, Kentucky. Afterwards, Derek returned to college at Miami University, majoring in Social Studies education, earning top class and President List honors. He earned his education degree, graduating magna cum laude. He was offered a job from Butler Tech teaching eighth grade computer science at Edgewood Middle School. A resident of Trenton, Derek enjoys spending time with his family, reading, writing, taking his dog on long walks, attending sporting events, spending time outdoors, giving hitting lessons, and coaching. |