Pair of TCHS baseball players sign college scholarships
Tuscaloosa County’s Ben Arendale and Grant Browning are taking their game to the next level.
Arendale and Browning signed scholarships to attend college on baseball scholarships. Arendale, a third baseman, will attend Southern Union State Community College in Wadley, Ala. Browning, a catcher, signed with Pensacola State College (Fla.).
Signing Day for @TuscaloosaCoun1! 2 Wildcats — catcher Grant Browning (Pensacola State College) & infielder Ben Arendale (Southern Union) — will get a chance to compete at the next level @WVUA23Sports @garyharris_wvua pic.twitter.com/2JW7syfoUY
— Stu McCann (@stu_mccann) May 1, 2023
Pensacola State College is part of the Panhandle Athletic Conference and Browning says there are 4-5 in the same general area of northwest Florida that he considers top tier programs in the junior college ranks. The other members of the conference: Northwest Florida State College, Tallahassee Community College, Chipola College, and Gulf Coast State College.
“Pensacola (State) probably plays in the toughest conference in (junior college) I’d say,” Browning said. “And I feel like it’s probably the best opportunity for me to get to the next level and better myself the next two years.
“If you want to be the best you have to play the best I think. I think you are doing yourself no justice not playing the best competition.”
Pensacola State College won the Panhandle Athletic Conference championship in 2021 and this season, the Pirates have more victories than any other team in the league (34).
Arendale had previously been committed to Lawson State Community College before reopening his recruitment. He visited the Southern Union campus earlier this spring and says he felt an instant connection to the school and the baseball program.
“I liked how it was around there and I fit in the with players,” Arendale said. “I just liked how it was around there with the campus and the facilities. It was very nice.
“This year I think they had 5-6 guys go on to play someplace bigger and better, I think D1 and D2. That proves they can put players at the next level after they land there.”
The past two seasons, Tuscaloosa County baseball has a combined record of 43-15.
