CALEDONIA — Jantsen Glasgow and Jared Reed-Wood have shared plenty of successful moments on the baseball field.
On Wednesday, it was time for the Caledonia High School seniors to share in a celebration that finalized their plans to continue their athletic careers in college.
Glasgow, who also was a standout on the school’s football team, signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Perkinston, while Reed-Wood announced his intention to play basketball at Blue Mountain College, a private liberal arts college a little more than 40 miles northwest of Tupelo.
Reed-Wood signed his National Letter of Intent on Tuesday at Blue Mountain.
Glasgow was a force in the lineup for coach John Wilson’s baseball team, which saw its season end at 20-12 after a loss to Amory in Game 3 of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A playoffs. He was first on the team in hits (38), RBIs (34), doubles (nine), and home runs (four) and second on the team in batting average (.392) and runs (24).
Glasgow said he had other offers from schools, but he didn’t find the right fit until he talked with
Mississippi Gulf Coast C.C. coach Rodney Batts, who is from New Hope. He said he had a good feeling after the initial conversation and then knew for sure he had found his school following a visit to the campus last Monday. He said it helps that he knows former New Hope High standout Sam Taylor, who is a freshman on the team.
“Coach Batts called me told me he would love to get me down there on a visit,” said Glasgow, when asked about a recruiting process that took only three weeks. “It just happened. It was quick. I didn’t have any idea who he was at first. He talked to coach Wilson first and then coach Wilson told me about him.”
Glasgow said he was optimistic something good was going to happen because Batts knows Wilson and other members of the Caledonia High baseball staff. He mentioned “coaching staff” as one of the top things he was looking at to help him make his choice.
“It feels really good not to have any more worries,” said Glasgow, who said the coaches project him as a first baseman.
Reed-Wood made the most of a tryout at Blue Mountain that included about 15 players. He said he didn’t know any of the other players, but he felt comfortable enough about his performance at point guard and shooting guard. While he admitted to wondering if he had done enough to impress the coaches, Reed-Wood said the coaches talked to him about the opportunities available to him at the school. He said the coaches gave him a week-and-a-half to two weeks to make a decision. The desire to continue his basketball career made the choice an easy one.
“I probably could have done better, but I always have been one of those people who think I played worse than I did,” said Reed-Wood, who is 5-foot-10, 155 pounds. “My step dad and my mom were there watching me. After the tryout, they told me I played really good. I figured colleges look for more than scoring, so just tried to hustle, play defense, and do all of the extra stuff. It ended up working out for me.”
Reed-Wood said he went over all of the pros and cons about choosing Blue Mountain and made sure to consider if he wanted to commit to playing a sport in college. He understands he will have to manage his time even better because his school work is going to remain his priority.
“The main goal in college is to get your education” Reed-Wood said. “Playing sports is so you can have fun while you’re doing it.”
Reed-Wood said he thought about something his stepfather, Lance Clardy, told him about taking advantage of opportunities. He said he didn’t want to regret not having the chance to do something he loves for as long as he can do it.
“It is on me to motivate myself and make sure it all gets done,” Reed-Wood said.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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