AMERICUS – Georgia Southwestern State University head baseball coach, Bryan McLain, recently announced that five student-athletes have signed their National Letters of Intent during the early signing period to play for the Hurricanes in 2018.
The five-member class that will enroll at GSW in August and play the 2018 season includes:
Cole Simmons – Third baseman – Houston County High School – Warner Robins – Simmons played second and third base for the 2016 Georgia High School Association Class AAAAA State Champions. He batted .275 with 18 RBIs and 11 runs scored.
Tucker Smith – Right-handed pitcher – Lake-Sumter State College – Leesburg, Fla. – A member of the Phi Theta Kappa International Honor Society, Smith has received the National Junior College Athletic Association Pinnacle Academic Achievement Award, Mid-Florida Conference Scholar-Athlete Award, and made the Florida College System Activities Association All-Academic Team. He made 16 appearances as a freshman and struck out 53 batters in 73 innings of work.
Jamison Wilks – Shortstop – North Paulding High School – Dallas, Ga. – Wilks posted a .315 batting average with 17 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, five doubles, and a pair of triples last spring for the Wolfpack.
Hayden Martin – Left-handed pitcher – River Ridge High School – Woodstock, Ga. – Martin played first base and pitched for a Knights squad that went 14-11 last spring. He hit .338 over the summer and posted 33 strikeouts in 40.2 innings on the hill playing for RBI Baseball 16U out of McDonough, Ga.
Austin Langford – Outfielder – Houston County High School – Warner Robins– Langford led the state champion Bears with a .368 batting average as the team finished with a record of 30-9. He was named to the All-Middle Georgia Second Team and was an Honorable Mention for All-State.
“We are excited about this group of young men,” McLain said. “They are all outstanding students as well as quality people who come from good families and we think they’re going to be solid college baseball players. Coach (Ken) Jarrett and Coach (Taylor) Bratton did an exceptional job addressing needs of the program in 2017-18 with this early signing class.”
After a 12-win improvement from 2015 and their most Peach Belt Conference victories since 2012, the Hurricanes look build upon that momentum this spring. The 2017 season starts Feb. 4 when GSW hosts Mars Hill University at 1:00 p.m.