Palmer Steventon has committed to play baseball for Lipscomb University in Nashville.
Before he goes, though, McCallie's left-handed pitcher has the rest of the 2016 season and the 2017 season to finish his high school career.
"I really loved the campus. It reminds me of McCallie," Steventon said. "I love the atmosphere. I liked the players and their parents. They didn't know who we were, but they were so friendly."
Steventon is the fifth of the current Blue Tornado players who have signed or committed to play college baseball. Seniors Ethan Cady and Quinn Smith have signed with Lipscomb and VMI, respectively, and Carson McKoon has committed to Washington & Lee while junior Corbin Brooksbank has accepted a Vanderbilt offer.
Cady is a first baseman, Quinn a catcher, McKoon a left-handed pitcher and Brooksbank a pitcher/outfielder.
Steventon also considered Tennessee Tech and Lee University before settling on Lipscomb.
"Lipscomb is getting a steal," McCallie coach Greg Payne said of the 6-foot-2, 175-pounder who has increased the speed of his fastball from mid-to-upper 70s mph to low to mid-80s. "He's still not finished. He can add some more miles per hour in there, and we expect at least a couple more before he's finished at McCallie."
But Steventon's worth is so much more than a fastball delivered with authority from the left side.
"The fastball's not the best thing. The best thing about him is that he throws four pitches for strikes," Payne said.
Then the coach corrected himself.
"He's an exceptionally driven youngster. He's such a hard worker and such a solid kid. There's so much more to him than being a great left-handed pitcher," Payne said.
Payne always has zeroed in on one pitcher for what he termed his security blanket. Steventon, who righted the ship last week by striking out 14 in McCallie's 2-1 win over Baylor, has become Payne's blanket.
"Yeah, I've done it with pitchers through the years. It really didn't matter the situation," Payne acknowledged. "They just performed - got outs. With Palmer, sometimes I've called on him in the first inning and sometimes, say, in the fifth. It could've been with the bases loaded. It didn't matter when. He was unflappable."
Steventon has developed a solid relationship with Payne.
"He's more than just a high school coach. I like how he coaches. He's just an overall good mentor. He has put a lot of trust in me, and I have a lot of trust in him," said Steventon, who plays summer and fall baseball with Brandon Turner's eXposure.
"Last summer was my first year playing for them. It puts you out there in front of schools, and it gave me an opportunity to play Division I baseball," he said.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.