8 Vikings going Division
By Bill Spinks
Herald Democrat
Grayson County College has sent numerous baseball players to NCAA Division I in the decade and a half since it re-established its baseball program. But head coach Dusty Hart cannot remember having as many make the early decision in one year.
Eight Vikings, including Sherman High graduates Madison Carter and Garrett Powell, have signed Division I letters of intent in the NCAA’s early signing period — which is quite a haul even for a program with seven Juco World Series appearances and three national championships.
“I think that’s the most we’ve ever had during the early signing period,” Hart said. “There’ve been a couple of years where we’ve been around there, but half of them signed early and the other half signed later.”
All eight will play this spring for the Vikings, who are coming off another trip to Grand Junction, Colo. last June. Practice for the 2012 campaign begins Jan. 15, with the first games set for Feb. 2 against Paris Junior College.
Four of the eight are headed to the Big 12, including Carter, a third baseman and outfielder who has signed with Texas.
“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, so it’s a big deal to me,” Carter said. “Not many people get a chance to play there, and it’s hard to turn down.”
Carter last year batted .370 on the year with 53 RBI and 51 runs scored in 52 games played. He also had five homers and 15 doubles, and stole 30 bases in 34 attempts.
Carter’s speed is an asset that should mesh well with the style of play favored by Longhorns coach Augie Garrido, the winningest coach in NCAA Division I baseball history.
“I’m happy for Madison,” Hart said. “He has wanted to go to Texas since he was little, and his dad (Spanky) played football at Texas, so I’m glad it worked out for him.”
In addition, three Vikings are headed to Oklahoma State: shortstop Trevor Holland and right-handed pitchers Shane Henderson and Lukas Moran. Moran is an incoming transfer from the University of Houston who was drafted out of high school, but came to Grayson so he could also hit, which he was not allowed to do with the Cougars, Hart said.
Powell, a righty pitcher, also had a chance to go to a Big 12 school but received an impressive scholarship offer from Stephen F. Austin that he couldn’t turn down. Powell said he liked the school and the coaching staff in Nacogdoches.
“I’m pretty excited,” Powell said. “It was a goal of mine going into Grayson to go somewhere bigger, and I got the chance.”
The other Division I signees out of Grayson include two catchers: Caleb Barker, who will go to Houston; and Tyler Pearson, an incoming transfer from Rice who’ll move on to Texas State next year. Rounding out the list is Andrew Jones, a left-handed pitcher who is headed to Hawaii.
While moving on to Division I is one way for a junior college to lose good players, there’s also the annual Major League Baseball first-year player draft in June. The Vikings this year won’t have catcher Abel Baker and lefty pitcher Zach Good after each was drafted and signed: Baker with the Los Angeles Angels, and Good with the Boston Red Sox.
“It’s hard to lose guys, but in JUCO we’re used to it,” Hart said. “It’s an every-year deal. We’re signing the right guys, that’s how we look at it.”
But the players on the team for 2012 think they have a great chance to not only go back to Grand Junction, but to win it all.
“We went to the World Series with pretty much the same group of guys,” Powell said. “We’ll have seven of nine starters back, so I think we’ll be pretty good
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