File photoValdosta pitcher Seth Shuman was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the 39th round of the Major League Baseball draft Saturday.

VALDOSTA, Ga. — After one all-state senior season, Seth Shuman earned himself a college scholarship.

A second all-state performance in his final campaign at Valdosta High, Shuman became a Major League Baseball draft pick.

The Baltimore Orioles drafted Shuman in the 39th round of the MLB draft Saturday with the 1171st pick of the three-day draft as a right-handed pitcher, becoming just the 11th player to be drafted out of Valdosta High.

The news of Shuman’s selection came, unexpectedly, just before he left his house to work on his other athletic obligation.

“I was actually about to walk outside and throw the football with my dad, because I’ve got to get ready to go to Southern in a week,” Shuman described in a phone interview. “He came up to me and started laughing and I was like, ‘What’s going on?’”

Shuman signed a letter-of-intent to play football at Georgia Southern in February after breaking the Wildcats’ single-season passing record. He followed that up with a stellar season on the diamond for VHS as he earned Region 1-6A’s Pitcher of the Year honors and all-state recognition from the Georgia Dugout Preview magazine after striking out 80 batters in 59 innings with a 1.53 ERA and just 15 walks. Shuman also hit .313 with 27 RBIs in the heart of the Wildcats’ order and hit the game-winning grand slam in the third game of Valdosta’s playoff-opening series win against North Paulding.

After hearing of his selection from his father and high school coach, Bart, Shuman jumped online to see the news and the congratulatory messages directed towards him on social media.

“My dad told me that there’s maybe a slight chance I get drafted, but I wasn’t really expecting anything,” Shuman said. “But it’s an honor to get drafted at all.

“I’m lucky for that.”

Will Peterson was Valdosta’s most recent draftee when he was chosen in the 50th round of the 2002 MLB draft by the Texas Rangers. Buck Coats, who played three years in the big leagues, was an 18th round choice of the Chicago Cubs in 2000.

Scott Shuman, Seth’s older brother, was drafted twice. Originally picked in the 23rd round of the 2006 draft by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Tift County High School, Scott Shuman was also selected in the 19th round of the 2009 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays after playing at Auburn. Scott Shuman, also a pitcher, is currently playing for the Bridgeport Bluefish of the independent Atlantic League.

But Shuman isn’t quite ready to join in the footsteps of his brother or those other Wildcats just yet, he fully plans to honor his commitment to the Eagles where he can squeeze a few more years out of playing both of the sports he loves.

“I’m pretty sure I’m still going to go to Georgia Southern,” Shuman said. “I have the opportunity to still play baseball and football there and maybe get drafted higher later towards the end of my career there.

“We’ll just see how things go and take it from there.”

Shuman says he needs to work on perfecting his craft and becoming a better all-around baseball player during his time at Georgia Southern.

In becoming a MLB draft pick Shuman received both an assurance of his talent and the drive to improve a potential future draft position.

“It definitely gives me some confidence knowing I got drafted out of high school,” Shuman said. “It gives me something to work for and have a mindset that I can improve on it.

“The 39th round is almost the last round, so I can definitely improve on that in a couple of years.”