STEENS — The 2023-24 school year in the Golden Triangle has already begun for some, but at Columbus Christian Academy, the Rams had two more graduating seniors to send off.
CCA held its final signing day for the 2023 class, one of the largest for the baseball program in recent memory, sending two former players to the collegiate ranks.
“Two great young kids, young men, from great families,” CCA coach Mike Bogue said. “They were really fun to coach, always attentive. Great multi-sport athletes and I think they’ll do great at the next level.”
Drake Shaw and Jackson Howard gathered with family and friends to celebrate their achievements, with Shaw headed to Blue Mountain Christian and Howard going to Holmes Community College.
“I played over the summer and it really shows you how different it is playing against college athletes versus high school,” Shaw said. “It’s setting in. I’m ready. I’m excited. I’m looking forward to it a lot. I think it will be really fun.”
Shaw’s interactions with the coaching staff at Blue Mountain made the decision easy for him to make, even as he had planned to potentially go elsewhere.
Their interest in him caused a shift and it turned into the right move as he will now be playing NAIA ball.
For Howard, his interactions at Holmes were much the same, an excited coaching staff looking to make him better.
“The coaches, they wanted to help me more than just have me on their team,” Howard said. “They wanted to get me to where I’ll play two more years somewhere after. … It’s a dream come true. I’ve been working my butt off for it ever since my freshman year.”
CCA is coming off back-to-back division titles as the program looks to continue to build, and Monday morning was part of the next step toward what the Rams hope will be a state title.
“We have a young team coming back and they saw these guys work, they saw them rewarded for their efforts,” Bogue said. “I think they’ll be encouraged by that, that they too can advance over the next few years and develop that level of talent.”
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