Steven Jennings, a rising Junior could become the first DCHS Tiger ever to play collegiate baseball in the Southeastern Conference.
This outstanding pitcher and short stop for the DCHS program has already earned an SEC offer from Ole Miss and has given a verbal commitment to play for the Rebels after his high school career is completed.
Jennings said his goal to one day play SEC baseball took a huge step forward this summer when coaches for Ole Miss took notice of him as a member of Team Nike, Middle Tennessee’s most elite 16U travel baseball club, made up of seventeen of the finest young baseball players from across the state.
“My dream has always been to play SEC baseball and Ole Miss is a school I really like. I’ve always kept up with Ole Miss baseball. I started playing summer ball this summer and my coach told me that Ole Miss (coaches) had come to watch and that I needed to call them. I called a couple of times and started talking to them and they said we would really like to get you down here to Oxford for a visit. So I went down there. They showed me everything. They actually gave me an offer. That was on Saturday. When I got home I talked to my parents about it for a couple of days and then on Tuesday I called Coach (Mike) Bianco and told him that I wanted to come to Ole Miss and be an Ole Miss Rebel,” said Jennings in an interview with WJLE Tuesday.
“Early in the summer Ole Miss was one of the schools that started looking at him (Steven). They started following us around watching him play, mainly watching him pitch but also his playing short (stop) and as a hitter too. Late in the summer they decided they were ready to make him an offer. We set up a visit, made a trip to Oxford, and spent a Saturday down there going through all the baseball stuff, met with academic people, and toured the campus. Then we got back and a few days later he decided that’s where he wants to go,” said Randy Jennings, Steven’s father.
“Mainly I think they like his arm. That’s what drew him to them (Ole Miss). The first time they saw him pitch he was throwing 87, 88 (mph) and by the end of the summer he was sitting at 89 and 90 (mph) pretty much with every fast ball. That’s what they really like. They like the power arm. I think that’s mainly what it is but they left the door open a little bit for the possibility of him playing in the field also,” said Randy Jennings.
In the meantime, Steven, who is also a talented quarterback, said he plans to continue playing high school football and baseball his junior and senior years at DCHS and for the travel baseball club during the summers.
“You can’t sign an official scholarship until you are a senior. A verbal commitment is one in which they (Ole Miss) have offered a scholarship and he (Steven) has accepted it. You are basically honoring your word until I think it’s November of his senior year when he can officially sign” said Randy Jennings.
Steven also had an offer from MTSU and a scheduled visit to Vanderbilt before opting for Ole Miss.
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