Valwood pitcher Emory Hogan and his extended family are pictured Thursday morning in Rodgers Performance Hall.

HAHIRA – Valwood senior pitcher Emory Hogan will not venture far from home for his college destination.

Hogan signed with Valdosta State Thursday morning.

“It’s amazing,” Hogan said. “I’m shocked. I’m thankful for this opportunity. I’m excited to work harder and get after it and be at VSU.”

This season, Hogan is 3-2 in six appearances with 19 hits, nine earned runs, 37 strikeouts and only 10 walks.

As a team, the Valiants sit at 6-5 overall and 1-1 in region play after defeating rival Tiftarea Academy 5-4 on Friday.

“Today’s occasion is an awesome day,” Valwood head baseball coach Robert Shipman said. “He came to us by way of Valdosta as a power-hitting first baseman that wasn’t as tall as he is now. He was much shorter and he came in and we just started throwing one summer and the ball came out of his hand pretty good. It seemed like weeks later, he said he pitched also. We went out and saw him in the bullpen and said, ‘Man, he can pitch.’

“If you know Emory, you know his demeanor is fun-loving. His heart is tender. He’s not gonna hurt a flea, but he certainly takes heart to everything he does and he wants to do a good job at it.”

Hogan added, “I never really knew I’d be here until…I kind of more so realized it my junior year and I just knew I had to work harder and get stronger because I’ve never been the fastest or the strongest. I knew it would take hours of hard work and that was my mindset the entire time.”

Shipman recalls Hogan pitching against then-state champion runner-up Tiftarea Academy two years ago and identified that game as “the transformation in his whole demeanor.”

“He went from the nice guy, pet your dog type guy to looking like a killer out there,” Shipman said. “He really competed two years ago. Last year, he ended up being an All-State pitcher and had one of the lowest ERAs in our region. He was one of the main reasons that we went to the playoffs. This year, he’s off to another great start. He’s a great leader and a captain of the baseball team and we’re here to say congratulations to Emory for all his hard work. He is an example of heart, hard work, perseverance and just stick-to-it-iveness.”

Hogan said of his competitive nature, “There’s just something about when I get out there to pitch, I’m just a totally different person. It’s like everything else goes away and it’s just me and the catcher and I’m a different person when I get out there and pitch.”

According to Shipman, the VSU coaching staff came out to watch Hogan work on the mound and “they fell in love with him just like we did.” On that day, the Blazers offered Hogan.

“If there’s a thousand high school players, probably 100 play college baseball,” Shipman said. “He’s gonna have the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Once he graduates in May, Hogan will join a Blazers team that has been ranked in the NCBWA Division II Top 25 under veteran coach Greg Guilliams.

Hogan doesn’t expect to be in the rotation when he arrives on campus, but he feels his opportunity will come as he continues to work hard and develop.

“They said I have to work really hard and I may get redshirted my freshman year,” Hogan said. “But I’m going to go in and try my hardest and do whatever I can to help the team.”