In a world that’s suddenly become all the more uncertain, Columbus High School senior outfielder C’Asia Grayer secured her athletic future Monday as she signed with Holmes Community College.
A prolific outfielder and power hitter for the Falcons, Grayer has yet to visit the campus. But with former Neshoba Central High School coach Trae Embry now at the helm in Goodman, she remains confident in her decision.
“What really stuck out to me was how much they reached out to me and how much time (Embry) was willing to wait on my decision to go there or not,” Grayer said.
Embry comes to Holmes after guiding the Rockets to the last seven fast-pitch and the last eight slow-pitch softball state championships. After seeing Grayer’s athleticism on display at the Mississippi Association of Coaches North-South slow-pitch All-Star game in October, Holmes reached out to Columbus head coach Eric Thornton about his star senior.
“Obviously any time we get to see kids play at the next level and see them get school paid for for a little while is great,” Thornton said. “C’Asia is one of the most talented kids I’ve coached. So we’ve known for a couple years that she would get the opportunity to play somewhere.”
With Grayer’s commitment, Columbus has earned its latest collegiate softball commitment. Entering his sixth year guiding the Falcons fast-pitch team, Thornton said Grayer’s pledge only stands to help the program in years to come.
“Our fast-pitch hasn’t been one that’s produced a ton (of college talent),” Thornton conceded. “But over the last three or four years we’ve sent four or five girls play college ball. So for us that’s a big step as a program just seeing that they have an opportunity to play at the next level, they have an opportunity to get school paid for through sports. We see a lot of kids sign for basketball but when you see them sign in softball and other sports it provides more opportunities for kids, so that’s what we want to do.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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