Collins Clark signs with Georgia Southwestern

ALBANY — Last spring, Collins Clark was pitching for a team chasing a state championship while trying to earn a college offer. He took care of the second part Thursday when he signed to play baseball at Georgia Southwestern State University. He has one more season at Deerfield-Windsor to take care of the first.

The senior left-hander went 5-1 with a team-best 2.08 ERA as a junior, reaching double digits in strikeouts in several starts. He helped the Knights at the plate, too, batting .384 with 19 RBIs. Deerfield-Windsor took Valwood to a deciding third game in the GIAA state championship series before falling two games to one.

Knights coach Kyle Keen praised Clark’s work ethic at Thursday’s signing. Afterward, he said having a college destination could free Clark up to enjoy his senior season.

“Last year I think he put a lot of pressure on himself to try and get noticed so he could get offers,” Keen said. “Now that he has this one, he knows where he is going and what the plans are, he can just go play baseball and have fun.”

Clark’s college plans took shape in April, when Georgia Southwestern began talking to him and offered him a spot. The coaches stayed in touch through the summer, and Clark committed before his senior year. The school in Americus was already familiar to his family.

“My dad went there, and the coaches at Georgia Southwestern have been great,” Clark said.

Clark, the son of Tommy and Dana Clark, started playing baseball at age 4 in Albany’s recreation program. He now plays travel baseball, trains with former Deerfield-Windsor star and Washington Nationals player Steven Williams at Forty-One Training and plays football for the Knights. He plans to study engineering at Georgia Southwestern and hopes to make it to the “Big Show” someday.

For now, Clark is working to become more consistent on the mound and at the plate. He knows how close the Knights came last spring, and he knows what he wants out of one more season with them.

“I want to get to state again,” Clark said. “And win this one.”