Once the athletics and academics sides lined up, Ty Maxie could narrow his college choice down to one.
On Tuesday, the Brownstown Central senior signed his letter of intent to play baseball at Greenville College (Greenville, Illinois) while studying to become a chiropractor.
Maxie, who plays in the middle infield at shortstop and second base, said he couldn’t give up playing ball after high school.
“It’s very humbling because I get to do what I love for the next few years,” Maxie said. “I’m looking forward to the competition and playing against some really good players. All of those guys at the next level love the game.”
The Panthers are an NCAA Division III school that play in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Greenville finished their 2017 season 30-17 overall, going 16-6 in SLIAC play. The Panthers won the SLIAC tournament championship on May 14, advancing to the NCAA tournament.
The Panthers then finished 0-2 in NCAA Regional contests, concluding on May 19.
“They’re getting a kid who loves baseball,” Brownstown Central coach John Lawson said. “He will go out and play hard. I can’t say he’s never played hard. He will hustle for him, and that’s the kind of ball player you want.”
While he’s strong in the field, Maxie has also got it done on the mound.
In three years of varsity play, Maxie has a pitching record of 12-1 through 87.2 innings of work. He has given up just 35 earned runs, 84 hits and has 85 strikeouts.
Maxie and Lawson said that they think he could see some time on the mound in college since every program is looking for more pitchers.
At the plate, Maxie has an average of .304 on 250 plate appearances. He has 79 hits, including 19 for extra bases (16 doubles) and 47 RBIs.
Lawson said Maxie is a gamer.
“His arm has gotten stronger and he has some speed,” Lawson said. “I think just being an athletic kid will translate. It will be an adjustment, it always is, because you will see everyone’s No. 1 from high school every day. It’s a different pace, but it’s still baseball. I think he will adjust to it.”