Ringgold High School shortstop Zach Lance made it official Wednesday, signing scholarship papers to continue his baseball career at Chattanooga State.
The 6-foot-1 senior batted .410 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs last season for Ringgold, which finished second in Georgia in Class AAA.
"We're excited to get him," Chattanooga State assistant coach Robert Long said. "He can pick it; he can run; he's got a good arm. He's a good player. We've been watching him a couple of years now, and he's finally a senior and we can get him."
Lance also talked to NCAA Division I programs Western Kentucky, Mercer and Kennesaw State and Division II Lincoln Memorial and could expect more interest through his senior season, but he said he didn't want to take a chance on sitting for a year. He also liked the idea of "getting my feet wet in college" at a two-year school not far from home.
"I've played every day since I was 4, and I don't want to get somewhere and redshirt," Lance said.
The fact Chattanooga State went to the NJCAA World Series last year made it even more enticing, he admitted.
"Zach looked at a lot of options," Ringgold coach Brent Tucker said, "and I think this definitely is the right decision for him. He wants to be on the field. He's a four-year starter for me, and he'll do whatever the coaches want him to do."