Not one, not two……So far the count is at three, but the way the offers to play baseball collegiately are starting to pour in for Ty Simonelli, surely more are on the way. To date the senior to be has received offers from East Texas Baptist, Bossier Parish Community College and LSU-Shreveport.
It is not surprising, given that the talented infielder had such a productive junior season for Quitman High School. Last spring, Simonelli batted .373 with a team leading 8 doubles while driving in 20 and scoring 22 runs. Adding the ten times he was hit by a pitch he accumulated a .495 on base percentage, second best on the team.
As good as that was, according to his father, Mike, it was his hard work and dedication to becoming a better player over the summer that has made a difference. The result was that while playing travel ball and attending various camps his performance and potential caught the eye of several would be suitors.
“Ty had a good summer and performed well in the camps he attended,” said the elder Simonelli. “He has worked at getting better and it looks like it is starting to pay off for him.”
Quitman High School baseball coach Joe Lockhart was not surprised by the offers.
“This is an example of what happens when someone with talent works extremely hard,” said Lockhart. “Ty is a leader through actions both on and off the playing field and is a high character young man who is always looking for ways to make himself better.”
Simonelli not only works hard at his athletic prowess but in the classroom as well. He enters his senior season with a cumulative 3.96 grade point average and has scored a 28 on the ACT. This makes him even more attractive to college coaches, especially the ones who deal with limited scholarships as he would also qualify for academic assistance as well.
“His mother and I (April) couldn’t be prouder of him,” continued Mike. “You can’t ask more than for your son to work hard to try and achieve as much as he can.”
