KFDM COOP Posted March 24, 2006 Report Posted March 24, 2006 Titan trio lands baseball scholarships The Memorial Titans went to East Texas looking for some wins in the Gladewater baseball tournament earlier this month. They came back with scholarships. Outfielders Toddrick Keller and Jerald Aiken and second baseman Isiah Trahan signed scholarship papers this week to play baseball at Jarvis Christian College. All thanks to their trip to Gladewater. "Yeah, it was a surprise," said Keller, Memorial's starting center fielder. "The tournament didn't seem as big as the Lufkin tournament (where Memorial played a year ago). That's a tournament with a lot of exposure." But first-year coach Wayne McKeller had contacted some pro and college scouts in advance of their trip. One of those was New York Mets scout Gifford Dixon. In turn, Dixon called his friend Garien Berry, an assistant coach at Jarvis Christian. "He contacted me and told me Memorial had some kids I needed to see," Berry recalled. "Immediately, I got in the car to go. I was impressed with their team, especially those three guys. "They are hard-working ballplayers. And they're also well-mannered and all-around great kids." "We didn't know anything about it," Keller, the son of Reo and Nikki Keller, recalled the first meeting with Berry. "We just went out and played. Then the coach gave us his card, and he stayed in touch with us. "It was a total shock, but nice, though." Jarvis Christian is a private university in Hawkins, Texas, near Tyler. It competes in the NAIA Red River Conference against schools that include Texas Wesleyan, Wiley College, Huston-Tillotson, UT-Permian Basin and Paul Quinn. Aiken is the son of June Aiken. Trahan, also a two-year starter for the Memorial football team, is the son of Warren Trahan. The Titan baseball team has set a school record with seven wins this season and stands 7-8 overall, 0-3 in District 22-5A heading into Friday's game against defending state champion Kingwood. "I'm just trying to find opportunities for the kids to go to college," McKeller said. "I'm glad this worked out.â€
Recommended Posts