Three Marshall baseball players committed to continue their athletic endeavors at the collegiate level on Tuesday at Marshall's Athletic Complex.

Jackson Hood and Dustin Fitzgerald each signed with Hill College, while Jared Gobert committed to play at East Texas Baptist next spring.

The trio comprised two of the Mavericks' top hitters, while Fitzgerald also served as their pitching ace.

"The competition level at college now is very tough," said Marshall head coach Todd Hammack. "All three of these guys have a chance to go in right away and compete and possibly even play (as freshmen). That says a lot about their work ethic."

Hood, who played first base and right field for Marshall, batted nearly .400 and knocked in around 15 runs this past season.

He decided on Hill after seeing his older brother Jared excel there for two years before moving on to UT Tyler and becoming an all-conference outfielder.

"To see my brother play there for two years really led me to (the decision)," Hood said. "(Hill Head) Coach (Chris) Rateike, what he did with my brother, that inspired me to go there."

Fitzgerald, an all-district pitcher as a junior that led the Mavs in strike outs and posted a 5-3 record last year, also liked what he saw from Rateike.

"I visited there two times and the coach really seemed to know what he was talking about," Fitzgerald said. "Plus, I already knew he had good ethics."

Marshall native Corey Brown recently completed his sophomore season at Hill and will move on to UL Monroe next season.

Gobert, meanwhile, Marshall's catcher and leading hitter, batted well over .400 with almost 30 runs batted in from the Mavs' clean-up spot.

He indicated ETBU's proximity to home as being a motivating factor for him.

"I like being close to home and I think ETBU will give me an opportunity to get a lot of playing time early," Gobert said.

Gobert will join a pair of Harrison County players that have recently signed with ETBU.

Cody Jones, a pitcher from Waskom committed to the Tigers last month while Harleton's Colton Knuckols recently announced his intentions of going there.

Hallsville native Cody Jones (unrelated to Waskom's Cody Jones) and Jefferson native Matt Hale are already members of ETBU's baseball team.

Knuckols commits to

play baseball for ETBU

Harleton senior Colton Knuckols recently signed to play baseball at East Texas Baptist next spring.

Knuckols has been unable to play for the Wildcats this season as he has been recovering from a wrist injury he suffered during the football season.

"I'm real excited about getting to play (next year) after not getting to this year," he said.

Knuckols plans on majoring in education and wants to become a history teacher and coach.