Ringgold's Tucker commits to Charleston Southern

Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / 
Holden Tucker poses in the Times Free Press studio on Thursday, May 31, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Staff photo by C.B. Schmelter / Holden Tucker poses in the Times Free Press studio on Thursday, May 31, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tenn.

RINGGOLD, Ga. - Brent Tucker has been through numerous recruitments involving his star athletes, but this one was inherently different in one way and very familiar in another.

The Ringgold High School coach's son, Holden, committed to Charleston Southern University this week, a Division I school in the Big South Conference. It was a union that came together fairly quickly for the left-handed pitcher/outfielder.

"He's gotten some other offers, but none were the right fit until now," Brent Tucker said. "I'm glad he was patient because he's the one who will be living there for four years. With my experience it seems when guys find the right place it just seems to go smoothly.

"They saw him pitch last summer in Jupiter, Fla., and he pitched a really good game. Holden had made a highlight video and I sent it to them. They remembered him, called him and we were down there that week."

Holden Tucker, a 6-foot left-hander, was 6-3 with a 1.67 ERA and three saves this past season as a junior. In 63 innings he struck out 95 while also batting .410 with three homers and 32 RBIs for a Ringgold team that went undefeated in Region 6-AAA and reached the state semifinals.

He was sold on the closeness he felt within the program on his visit and the fact that head coach Adam Ward is known for building pitching staffs. He was the program's former pitching coach and this past season, his second as head coach, the Bucs again had one of the top pitching staffs in the conference.

"I just felt like they really wanted me and they were fired up about it," Holden Tucker said. "The family atmosphere was great and it was the nicest campus we visited. I felt like I was a good fit. The head coach has been there a while and three of the coaches played there. They know how to build a pitching staff."

That last statement was also important to Brent Tucker, who understands the fragile nature of teenage pitching arms.

"As a father you want to know he will be taken care of," he said, noting that the Bucs didn't have a pitcher throw more than 110 pitches in any game this year. "It seemed one of the things with the schools that were interested in Holden was their pitching coaches were leaving. At Charleston Southern, the guys are sticking around."

Tucker is the second 2019 Division I commitment for the Tigers. Outfielder Andre Tarver has been committed to Mississippi State for two years.

Contact Lindsey Young at lyoung@timesfreepress.com or at 423-757-6296; follow on Twitter @youngsports22

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