by Rusty Ellis
Upperman senior Caden Shanks locked in his commitment to Lipscomb University on Wednesday morning, as the senior pitcher signed his national letter of intent to play baseball for the Bison upon graduation.
For Shanks, it’s a moment he’s spent years working towards.
“I’m feeling great, it’s really awesome,” Shanks said. “The recruiting process was a little different, the coaching staff at Lipscomb is phenomenal, and the guys there made me feel right at home. So that made my decision a little easier.”
On a day where two Upperman Bees signed, UHS head coach Wes Shanks had a lot to say as far as praising his two senior signees, specifically mentioning just how highly-recruited Shanks was.
Shanks also mentions how know that they’ve signed, they get the opportunity to be the go-to guys for the team.
“I’m excited to have them,” Shanks said of his two seniors. “They are two critical components to our team…They have a 79-32 record. You could tell from their freshmen year to now, the competitive nature and talent-level has been there. Caden Shanks has been sought after since he was really young. Between him and Wyatt Curtis, they haven’t had to be that number one because of (who we’ve had), so now they get that chance.
While Shanks still has one more season to represent the town of Baxter, he says he’ll miss his teammates the most when he does graduate, but that he also feels as if he’s ready for the next level.
“I’m definitely going to miss being around my teammates and being close to home,” Shanks said. “I’m also looking forward to being a freshman again, and just being (at Lipscomb)…I think I’m ready, there’s a lot of ifs, ands, and buts, but I think I’m ready.”
