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COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Billy Wagner won’t be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame until Sunday.

But the former Ferrum College great was already emotional Saturday, a good 24 hours before the induction ceremony.

Wagner will be the first former NCAA Division III player to be inducted into Cooperstown. The Tazewell High School graduate also will become the first native of Southwest Virginia to be inducted into Cooperstown, as well as the first left-handed reliever to get the honor.

“We were standing on the stage out here and we’re going through the walk-through. Thinking about all the people that have influenced you and supported you, it’s an emotional moment because of being the first,� Wagner said Saturday at a Cooperstown news conference before choking up and pausing for several seconds.

“So it’s emotional. And (I’m) proud.�

Wagner was joined at the press conference next to the site of the induction ceremony by CC Sabathia, who also will be inducted Sunday. The other inductees will be Ichiro Suzuki, the late Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen.

“When I was playing, I could control (his emotions) a little bit more. I think my emotions will get a little bit (of the) best of me tomorrow,� said Wagner, who pitched in the major leagues from 1995-2010. “The whole experience has just been overwhelming because of the attention. Two days ago I was weed-eating and mowing.�

Wagner was elected to Cooperstown in January on his 10th and final time on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.

“After seeing how a lot of guys like Lee Smith and Ted Simmons … had to wait their turn to get to this point through veterans committees and how hard it is to get in here, it’s well worth the wait,� Wagner said. “Representing Southwest Virginia and small colleges, that’s the perk. There’s a lot of people to thank for that, but it’s hard to put it into … words. But it was well worth the wait.�

Wagner used to be a closer. But on Sunday, he will start off the inductee speeches.

“I’m excited about my speech,� he said. “For 54 years I’ve been kind of working on it. So having the rehearsal for that long, I’m excited. And I’m glad that I’m going to get it over first.�

Wagner is now the baseball coach at The Miller School in Albemarle County. So these days, he pitches during batting practice.

“It’s fun to throw, to have that weirdness of going from missing bats to try to hit bats,� Wagner said.

Wagner and his wife, Sarah, a former Ferrum women’s basketball player, have four children — Will, a Toronto Blue Jays infielder and former Liberty University player who was given this weekend off by Toronto so he could attend Sunday’s ceremony; Jeremy, who played college baseball at Towson; Olivia, who played college basketball at Radford and Winthrop; and Kason, who is on The Miller School baseball team.

“It’s fun to watch the … journey, that’s for sure, and to ride that roller-coaster with them,� Wagner said. “There’s more anxiety to watch our kids and talk to them about the highs and lows of the sport. … If somebody doesn’t do right by your son, you’re obviously a hater. My wife’s no different. … As a parent, when you watch your kids, you want nothing but the best in going through the ups and downs.�

Ferrum baseball coach Eric Owens is one of at least eight former Ferrum baseball teammates of Wagner who have made the trip to central New York for the induction ceremony, as have Ferrum assistant Darren Hodges and former Ferrum coach Abe Naff. Some of Wagner’s former major-league teammates will be on hand Sunday as well.

“You never know what people think of you until you have this moment. And to have the support always makes it easier to get through these emotional moments,� Wagner said.

Wagner turned 54 years old on Friday.

“He’s getting put in the hall of fame in his birthday weekend,� Owens said Saturday at his Cooperstown hotel. “That’s pretty special.�

Wagner pitched for Ferrum from 1991-93. He stymied hitters with his fastball, going 17-3 with a 1.63 ERA and 327 strikeouts in 182 1/3 innings in his three college seasons.

“Players have good arms, but he had a lively arm,� Naff said Saturday in a hotel interview. “At the cut of the grass in front of home plate, his ball would explode. … It was just electric.�

Hodges, a former Ferrum standout and ex-New York Yankees minor leaguer, recalled Saturday in a hotel interview the time he ran into then-Yankees scouting director Bill Livesey at the Yankees’ spring training camp in Florida. Livesey, who was about to scout Wagner at a Ferrum game in Florida, did not believe Hodges when Hodges told him Wagner could throw 100 mph.

A few weeks later, Hodges ran into Livesey again. Livesey held up three fingers, signifying the number of times Wagner had hit 100 mph on Livesey’s radar gun.

“He was blessed … by the good Lord with that arm,� Hodges said.