Ty McCory has loved the game of basketball for as long as he can remember.

“From day one, I always knew that basketball was kind of the thing I’ve always wanted to play in college,” McCory said.

That goal turned into a reality on Thursday when McCory, a senior at Seymour High School, signed to play basketball at Franklin College.

“We got to visit Franklin a few months ago,” McCory said. “The campus wasn’t too big, it wasn’t too small. The atmosphere there was awesome. It was pretty easy to navigate around there. All the coaches and professors I got to meet were perfect.

“Their education program is awesome, too. I could just tell that once I got there that it would be a good fit for me.”

Owls head basketball Coach Tyler Phillips said he was in contact with Franklin College coach Kerry Prather, and McCory was invited to a workout at Franklin.

“Coach Prather called me that night and said there was no doubt that he could help their program,” Phillips said.

McCory left a lasting impression during his workout.

“I guess he went up there and set the world on fire and really impressed every coach,” Phillips said. “I actually got a call from two of the assistants that night also. They offered him shortly after and where we are.”

McCory improved a lot this the past two years, going from sixth man as a junior to leading the Owls in scoring this season at 15.5 points per game.

He shot 46 percent form 3-point range and broke the school record for 3-pointers in a season with 73 this winter.

“Obviously, the box scores shows what he did with his scoring,” Phillips said. “He led us in scoring. He’s the all-time leader in 3-pointers made. His work ethic is outstanding. He has set the tone for kids coming up — how you’re supposed to work and just what a Seymour basketball player is supposed to look like in the community and in the classroom.

“People see the stats, but they don’t see what he does off the floor, refereeing rec. league games and coaching a rec. league team, being at Swish stuff. He doesn’t’ have to do all that and he did because he cares about the program far beyond when he’s out of it.”

McCory said the coaches at Franklin are setting up a summer program for him.

“(Prather) is going to be giving me a personal workout plan for me to get better,” he said. “Obviously, he’s told me that he wants me to keep perfect what I can do best — shoot — and be able to shoot from further away with a quicker release.”

McCory said the 3-point line in college is about a foot further out than high school.

“I think that will probably benefit me more because I never really shot on the 3-point line in high school,” he said. “I was usually a few feet behind it. I don’t think it will bother me at all.”

Once baseball season is over, McCory plans on prepping for basketball right away.

“I’m going to have to become a better shooter than what I am,” McCory said. “ I’m just going to have to keep putting more time in in the gym and I’m going to have to become bigger, faster, stronger and I’m going to have to put more time in in the weight room.

“I just can’t take many days off, and keep working hard in the gym.”

McCory remembers at a young age he wanted to shoot baskets from long range, but his father discouraged him from doing that.

“Whenever I was little, I was wanting to jack up 3-pointers, and I had terrible form and everything,” McCory said. “He made me scoot in and of course I didn’t that right away. I wanted to shoot 3-pointers, but in the long run it definitely helped because now I’ve got the correct from and now that I’ve gotten stronger I’m able to keep the correct from further out so I’ve definitely benefited from that.”

The senior said he will miss playing at the Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium.

“The atmosphere of the (SHS) games is awesome,” McCory said. “Walking out of the locker room and seeing the band playing and everybody cheering, especially at sectional time, seeing the gym filled up, that’s a whole another feeling.”

McCory said he wants to be a math teacher, and he will major in mathematics.