VALDOSTA — Baseball is ingrained into the Ard family, so it’s only natural for Luke to sign a letter-of-intent to play the sport at the college level.

That didn’t make Wednesday’s ceremony any less sweet.

In front of a collection of family, friends and teammates and coaches past and present, Ard signed a LOI with Tallahassee Community College at Valdosta High’s Performing Arts Center.

“It means a lot to see all the coaches that have been there for me throughout my years and made me better, and come to see me reach my final goal that I’ve been trying to reach,” Ard said. “And it feels good to have all my friends and family and players here to support me.”

Baseball has been a life-long obsession for Ard and his family. His father Johnny was selected by the Minnesota Twins with the 20th overall pick in the 1988 draft out of Manatee Junior College and spent part of his career playing internationally.

It wasn’t long after Ard began to walk that he began following in his father’s footsteps.

“My family has always loved baseball,” said Johnny Ard. “I played other sports in high school, and Luke did too, and liked the sports, but his first love has always been baseball.

“Him and Jude (Ard’s younger brother) growing up, all the time it was, ‘Daddy, can we go outside and play catch or throw,’ and any time they asked we did it. It’s kind of been a common thing with my family, that’s just it.”

Ard teamed with future teammates, and some of his closest friends, Seth Shuman, Logan Stephens and J.J. Jaramillo when the quartet were 6-7-years-old.

Now, Shuman is pitching at Georgia Southern, Stephens is roaming the infield at Eastern Kentucky and Ard has committed to pitch at Tallahassee Community College after finishing his senior season at Valdosta with Jaramillo in the outfield.

Since playing baseball under Lesley Stephens as a kindergartener, Ard has learned under the tutelage of Valwood coach Robert Shipman, coach Bart Shuman at Valdosta and a host of others, but Johnny has been one consistent.

Ard learned from his father that baseball can be a frustrating sport at times, but as long as he remains even-keeled, never lets himself get too high or low (a trait all of Ard’s coaches complimented Wednesday) and gives it his all, he’ll never have any regrets.

After following his father’s advice, he followed his lead and signed with a junior college in hopes of further honing his skills before looking to make the next jump.

“I’m just excited about doing this,” Ard said of signing his LOI. “I know my dad did this when he was younger, and I always wanted to be like him, so I know he went through that process and was drafted… That’a basically my goal to get up there in two years and get drafted.”

Ard would be happy to pitch for any Division 1 college willing to extend an offer, but if he had his choice, he’d continue to pitch on a staff with teammate, and fellow lefty, Dayton Hall at Florida State.

Prior to transferring to Houston County, where he won the Class 6A state championship with the Bears, Hall and Ard each started games for the Wildcats as freshmen.

Three years later, Hall has transferred back and rekindled a friendship with Ard as the two lead a pitching staff looking to bring a state title to Valdosta.

“It’s been great,” Ard said. “He’s been one pf my best friends my whole life and he left, and we kind of didn’t talk anymore. Then when he came back, everything just kind of clicked and we’ve been pitching good this year.”

Derrick Davis is the sports editor at the Valdosta Daily Times.