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On Thursday, Pike Liberal Arts senior John Lott signed his letter-of-intent with Reid State Technical College in Evergreen to play college baseball.

Lott said that after taking a visit to Reid State, it was a “no-brainer” for him.

“I went up there and they made me feel like it was a place where I wanted to go and pursue a career in baseball,” Lott said. “It’s a place where academics are really good and they have everything I wanted there. The coaching staff wants to better me and that is what I was looking for, too. That was a no-brainer for me. On the way home, me and my dad were like ‘This is the place.’”

Lott earned both All-Messenger and All-State honors as a junior last season. During his Pike career, Lott has boasted a .435 batting average with a .530 on-base percentage and 56 RBIs. He’s also tallied 378 putouts with a .983 fielding percentage from his catcher position on defense.

Lott is already planning to take summer courses to get a head start on his academics at Reid State.

“This summer I want to take some courses and get a jump on things. I want to get there in the fall and work hard in baseball and in the classroom and ball out,” he said. “I want a degree in business but I also want to pick up as many trades as I can while I’m there because they offer an array of certifications you can get.”

After his two years at Reid State is up, Lott said he’s open to potentially pursuing a four-year school if it’s right for him.

“I wouldn’t mind playing at a four year, I would like it but right now I’m just concentrating on being where my feet are,” said Lott. “This is the path God wants me to take and I’ll take this path and if He guides me to a four year, I’ll take that path.”

Right now, Lott is concentrated on bringing a “Blue Map” to Pike Lib.

“Right now the goal is every day to get better and be a good teammate for my coaches and teammates and to be a person that people want to be around,” he emphasized.” The ultimate goal, though, is to win a state championship. That’s the biggest goal, get that ‘Blue Map’ and go out and win it all on this last ride.”