The annual Cherokee County High School Baseball Banquet featured an added ceremony to the program. Coach Joe Jordan of Southern Union State Community College was present for the signing of Preston Grimes’s National Letter of Intent. The right handed senior pitcher will begin his college experience and play baseball at Southern Union this fall.

As Cherokee County High School baseball came into its own this spring, so did Preston Grimes. His 0.190 ERA led the team and he did not allow any earned runs in 4A area play. Preston has played with the high school program for five years; he also played with the Centre Blue Sox in 2014 in the Birmingham Industrial League and for the Double Day Rockies of Rome, Georgia last fall. Head Coach Skylar Ray remarked “If Preston continues to improve over the next year as he has over the last few years, he will be a huge asset to Southern Union baseball.” Preston also played three years of football and four years of basketball for Cherokee County.

At the banquet, Preston learned of his All-County Selection as well as being voted team Co-Captain. On choosing Southern Union, Preston said “My visit there was really positive. The players I met were friendly and opened up to me about what playing at Southern Union was like. Coach Jordan has a reputation for being tough, but it just seemed Southern Union was the place for me to try to develop further as a pitcher and to begin my college education.”

Coach Jordan addressed the team briefly after the ceremony. He encouraged each player to give his best on and off the field because “you never know who’s watching.”