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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Jemison High School’s Hunter Scott took the next step in his baseball career and signed with Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Missouri. The senior pitcher and middle infielder signed with the NAIA program on March 6 in front of friends and family inside the JHS auditorium.

Scott had some other offers from NAIA schools around Culver-Stockton, and the word got over about him to the Wildcats program.

“This was everything I wanted when I was little, and it is all I have ever done,” Scott said. “(Baseball) keeps me distracted from all of the things and helps me get through everything.”

Last year, Jemison head coach Gabe Gunter talked to Scott halfway through the season about trusting him. If he did, then Scott and the team would get better quickly, and they did. Ever since then, things for Scott and the Panthers’ program have been trending upward.

“He is a staple to this program, and he has done everything I have asked him to do and more,” Gunter said. “I think he is going to do great things. He deserves it, and he has earned it and everything he is getting right now. I just wish the best for him.”

Scott has established himself as a great pitcher, but he is also a tremendous fielder with just one error throughout each of the last two seasons. At the plate, Scott is a switch hitter, giving him the upper hand in most pitching matchups he will see.

“He has played flawless shortstop for us and is hitting lead off,” Gunter said. “(Culver-Stockton) saw a lot of what I have seen and he can pretty much do it all. He is a can’t miss from a recruiting aspect because he will produce somewhere.”

Scott has not visited Culver-Stockton yet, but plans to in the near future. He wants to have a plan in place immediately upon arrival in Missouri and get to work quickly.

“I definitely want to keep getting better,” Scott said. “I want to be the best baseball player I can be to help out that team and get some playing time. I have always thought I would rather go to a JUCO or NAIA (program). I want to play as much as I can and get as good as I can, and then possibily transfer to an NCAA (school).”

Scott will have two years of NAIA baseball that will not count towards his four years of NCAA eligibility. After his two years, he will have the opportunity to move on to another level of college baseball if he chooses.