It’s always great to see local high school athletes further their athletic and academic careers, and on Thursday, another one made his decision.

Seymour senior Gavin Leavy decided to sign with Franklin College to play baseball for the Grizzlies. The southpaw will pitch and play first base in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference.

He spoke on the opportunity to play baseball at the next level.

“It’s a big opportunity and something I’ve always wanted to do,” Leavy said.” I’m very excited for the chance to do that.”

Leavy was then asked about what drew him to Franklin College.

“I just felt very comfortable there. I felt good about the other schools, too, but there was just something about Franklin,” he said. “I’m excited to get there and start working in college.”

Leavy still has a season left to play for the Owls. Last season as a junior, the left-hander went 3-2 for Seymour on the mound, starting once and appearing in 10 other games.

Leavy posted an ERA of 4.70, striking out 31 of the 111 batters he faced. The southpaw pitched in 22.1 innings but was also a steady part of the Seymour lineup.

On offense, Leavy hit for a .281 average, posted an on-base percentage of .339 and slugged .596. As a junior, he smacked five home runs and drove in 16 RBI while crossing the plate 11 times.

Leavy spoke about some of his personal expectations for his senior year.

“I want to improve drastically in my pitching, continuing to throw harder and harder, along with working on my bat skills,” Leavy said. “I would like to hit a little better than I did last year and try to improve everything. Therefore, when I go to college, I’ll be ready for that next step.”

In the field, Leavy plays first base. As a first baseman, you have to be solid on defense. Even if people think you don’t move a lot, you do. In the heat of the moment, there’s no greater responsibility than getting the ball in your glove to record the out at first.

Seymour head coach Jeremy Richey spoke on the senior’s decision to play in college.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity for him to go up there and compete. Franklin is a very successful program at the Division III level,” Richey said. “It will allow Gavin to go up there and compete to be on the mound right away and be in the lineup. He came a long way last season with his bat, and his five home runs prove that he was a staple in our lineup.”

The coach was also asked about the development and growth of Leavy as a player and as a young man.

“You can see how much bigger he has gotten. He just keeps getting stronger and stronger,” Richey said. “Gavin is a very hardworking kid that had a goal in mind that he wanted to play college baseball. He’s working so hard right now. You can tell a difference even from last year to this year. I think you’ll see an even better Gavin Leavy this season.”

Richey also mentioned he has a good relationship with Lance Marshall, who is the Franklin baseball coach. He also said he knows Leavy will be getting proper coaching in his future development with the Grizzlies.