PRAIRIE GROVE -- Prairie Grove senior J.D. Speed has always been a Tiger.
He was a Bentonville Tiger prior to moving to Prairie Grove as a junior. And Speed will remain a Tiger after signing a national letter of intent to play baseball at Ouachita Baptist University on Tuesday.
"J.D. Is a kid that every coach loves," Prairie Grove coach Mitch Cameron said. "He'll run through a brick wall if you ask him. He works hard on and off the field. He puts in the time and deserves everything that he gets."
Speed, who earned 4A-1 All-Conference honors last spring, has played numerous positions in his two year-stint at Prairie Grove. This season he has played shortstop, third base and pitches. Speed has compiled a 4-2 record with a 1.658 ERA. At the plate, he is batting .333 with a .515 slugging percentage.
OBU is an NCAA Division II member of the Great American Conference and is coached by Jeremy Haworth. Cameron said Speed, who plans on majoring in business, will be utilized as a third baseman/utility player and could provide Ouachita with help on the mound if needed.
"I started to play travel ball at 9 and that was always just for fun," Speed said. "By the time I reached high school, I knew that I'd want to get serious with it and see how far I could go. So I feel like it is such a blessing to now be able to go to OBU and further my playing career."
Sports on 04/26/2014