Jordan Massey, a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher at Tipton-Rosemark Academy, signed a baseball scholarship Tuesday afternoon with Southwest Tennessee Community College.
A question always asked of students when they sign an athletic scholarship: Why did you choose this school?
The fact that all five of Massey’s siblings – three brothers and two sisters – and his parents attended the signing was a clue to why Massey chose Southwest, which is located in Memphis, 24 miles from the TRA campus.
“I was recruited by Dyersburg State and Freed-Hardeman, but I just thought Southwest was a better fit for me,” Massey said. “It’s close to home.”
“As you can see, he has a big family,” TRA baseball coach Jacob Cole said. “I think Southwest is a good fit for a lot of reasons. It’s close to home and his family can come watch him.”
Massey was used almost exclusively as a reliever last year and he thrived in that role. He was second on the team in strikeouts per inning. Massey struck out two of the four batters he faced in last year’s state tournament.
This year, Cole said, Massey will be one of the teams’ top two starters and will pitch in league games on Mondays and Tuesdays.
“His fastball is in the mid- to upper-80s and it’s got some life left,” Cole said. “Once he gets to college and with conditioning and weights, I don’t think 90 is a stretch at all. He also has a really tight slider. That’s his strikeout pitch.”
Massey will join former teammate Jacob Dodson at Southwest. Dodson graduated from TRA in 2020.
