VALDOSTA — Timing is everything. And for Lowndes’ baseball standout Matt Harper, where he will play in college was all about timing.
When most Division I baseball scholarships were handed out in November, the 6-foot-1, 203-pound linebacker/tightend/outfielder/pitcher was in the midst of helping lead the Vikings’ football team to its second consecutive state title.
Once deciding to use his first athletic passion, baseball, to get him a free ride to college, Harper signed a letter of intent to attend Young Harris for two years before moving to a Division I program.
However, that changed when Harper told the defending Junior College State champions that he will not attend Young Harris for a spot at Georgia Tech.
After coaches saw Harper play May 29 against Lassiter in the Class AAAAA state semifinals, Georgia Tech offered the 2006 Region 1-AAAAA Athlete of the Year a scholarship to play for the Yellow Jackets.
Harper will sign the letter of intent this week.
“I think he deserved it,” Lowndes coach Danny Redshaw said. “It was something we tried to get done for a year and half with that kid. What hurt us a lot is the fact he didn’t commit full time to baseball until February, and most of the Division I scholarship money is gone. I guess after the Lassiter series they found some.”
The one series Georgia Tech came to see couldn’t have worked out better for Harper, who had a game against Lassiter for the ages.
In the Vikings’ first game loss to the Trojans, Harper had three home runs, drove in four runs and pitched five shutout innings.
After the Vikings lost their second game to the Trojans, Harper walked over to his parents where Yellow Jackets coaches were waiting.
“After I came off the field to talk to my parents, they were talking to my parents and told me they liked what they saw,” Harper said. “They told me to come over, and after I went the next day they offered me a scholarship.”
A big reason for the Yellow Jackets coming to see Harper was a past Viking who also made an impression at Georgia Tech.
Jordan Crews, who played for the Yellow Jackets before graduating and getting drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 2005, called the coaching staff and mentioned that Harper would be worth taking a look at.
All it took was one incredible game and the Yellow Jackets were sold.
“They really hadn’t heard of me,” Harper said. “Jordan Crews called and talked to them about me and they came and watched me play.”
Harper and Crews’ parents attend the same church together and the information about Harper’s star play at Lowndes’ found its way to the current Cub farmhand.
It wasn’t until after Tech offered Harper a scholarship that he found out his parents and Crews have helped to spread the word.
For Harper, how he came to play for a Division I school isn’t important, it’s the fact that he will be in the outfield of a top tier school in 2007.
“They came up and talked to me, and I thought it was awesome that I get to go play for Tech,” Harper said. “I was a little surprised and excited and happy.”
Heading into the Lassiter series, Harper batted an impressive .525 with 11 home runs and 36 RBIs for the Vikings.
The smooth swinging centerfielder will compete for a spot in the Yellow Jackets outfield right away.
“I don’t have any doubt that he can play in ACC,” Redshaw said. “I think he can start there next year.
“He’s got a chance to play in one of the elite leagues in the country and get a great education at the same time.”
