Eleven high-school seniors visited Georgia Highlands College on Tuesday, Jan 15 to sign letters of intent for the college’s inaugural baseball team. The recruits come mainly from the northwest Georgia area, and include three players from Cartersville, three from Cobb County, and one each from Catoosa, Paulding and Polk Counties. The final two hail from Effingham County outside Savannah and from Opelika, Alabama.

Baseball Coach Mike Marra anticipates a very strong team for GHC. “We know we have a great challenge ahead of us in starting a competitive intercollegiate program from scratch, but we feel we have a great group of young men who are ready to meet the challenge,” he said.

Marra bases his opinion on some impressive high-school records. John Hood, from Woodland High School in Cartersville, for example, served as the number one pitcher for three consecutive seasons, finishing his final season with a 1.15 ERA. Colby Chattin, from Ringgold in Catoosa County, and Luke Patterson, from Woodland High School in Cartersville, were both selected as 2013 Under Armour pre-season all-Americans. Nick Constan, from Opelika, Alabama, was named an Alabama Independent School Association all-star as a junior in 2012. Edward Lott II of Kennesaw pitches at a velocity of nearly 90 miles per hour. All the signers can claim similar achievements.

Georgia Highlands announced in April 2011 that it would begin an athletics program. The first sport chosen for competitive play was basketball, and the men and women’s teams played their first games in November. Baseball and softball are next, and the Tuesday signing represents the first group of recruits for GHC’s initial baseball team. The women’s team, coached by Melissa Wood, will be announced at a later date. Competitive play kicks off in spring 2014. GHC is a member of the Georgia College Athletic Association, which is part of the National Junior College Athletic Association. The basketball program is based on the Floyd campus in Rome; baseball and softball programs will be run from the Cartersville campus.

Signing with Highlands on Tuesday:

Alec Arnsdorff, Effingham County High School, Springfield

Colby Chattin, Heritage High School, Ringgold

Nick Constan, Lee-Scott Academy, Opelika, Alabama

Tyler Elwer, Lassiter High School, Roswell

Albert Harless, South Paulding High School, Paulding County

John Hood, Woodland High School, Cartersville

Edward Lott, Kennesaw Mountain High School, Kennesaw

Camden McGill, Woodland High School, Cartersville

Blake Oxenreider, Cedartown High School, Cedartown

Luke Patterson, Woodland High School, Cartersville

Samuel Stephens, Jr., McEachern High School, Powder Springs