HHS seniors Jackson Smith, Colton Ord and Chris Brown, seated from left, signed early letters of intent to play softball for South Carolina, South Alabama and UAH, respectively, Monday afternoon. Standing are, from left, athletic director Johnny Berry, head coach William Booth and assistant coaches Bear Whitlock and Jerry Childers. | Clif Knight

Three senior members of Hartselle High School’s baseball team signed letters of intent to play baseball for three different universities Monday afternoon.

Pitchers Colton Ord and Jackson Smith signed early with South Alabama and South Carolina, respectively, and catcher Chris Brown signed with the University of Alabama– Huntsville.

Ord, a lefty, posted a 6-1 record for the Tigers as a junior while Chris Brown batted .360 with four homers. Smith, a right hander, missed most of his junior season with a hand injury but bounced back in summer travel ball by posting a 12-0 record with the East Cobb Braves. Since then, he suffered a torn ACL in a knee and is recovering, hopeful of being able to join his team before the end of next season.

All three are entering their third year as starters for Hartselle.

“These guys have sacrificed a lot of time and hard work to get where they are,” said Hartselle head baseball coach. William Booth. “All three played on summer travel teams and were very successful. It got them a lot of exposure and led to them getting scholarship offers and being able to sign early.

“Now that they have their futures settled, they can relax and play hard for us next spring.” he added.

“”I’m excited about where I’m going,” Ord stated. “I really like the coaching staff at South Alabama. They have a strong offense and defense supporting their pitchers. I think it’s a good fit for me and I’m looking forward to helping them wins some Sunbelt Conference titles. But “I’m not losing focus on my season here. My goal is to work hard and help the Tigers win another state championship.”

“I feel blessed to have the opportunity to play for the Gamecocks,” Smith said. “I’ll be enrolling there next summer and will strive to represent my school and community well and help them maintain their reputation as a national championship contender.”

Brown, a switch hitter, said having the opportunity to play for a college like UAH is the fulfillment of a boyhood dream.

Looking forward to his senior season, he said, “I think we have a good chance to win it all if we work hard and play together as a team.”