Ethan Bates, Ben Muldoon, and Brady Prince all inked their names to letters of intent to play baseball on the collegiate level on the first day of the signing period in the Lakeside High School media center, each advancing to play at a different level.
Bates signed to play for the Arkansas Razorbacks, Muldoon will play for the Southern Arkansas Muleriders, and Prince will be playing at Crowder College.
"It's a testament to what everyone in this room has put into these guys, whether you're a teacher, coach, mentor, teammate, you guys play a role in these guys getting where they want to go to the next level," said Lakeside head coach Leighton Hardin before the trio signed their letters. "So we appreciate that from you guys. ... Over the last three years, they were a part of the conference championship, won 59 games, which is the most wins in a three-year period ever [at Lakeside].
"Not only have they helped us out on the field but off the field. ... They've been a great role model for our community with our big brother program, and you can see that with some of the young people out here today. As a parent, that's important to me to have someone with great character and work ethic to show and be a role model for our kids and help in our community."
Bates committed to Arkansas prior to the 2018 season, and while he wanted to play for Dave Van Horn since he was a child, his uncle Joe Hicks helped to influence him from a young age.
"It's just been where I wanted to go since I was a little kid," Bates explained. "Like, it's just been my place. I've always been fascinated with it, and I mean, I've had a really strong upbringing with Arkansas, with my uncle and how he has whole house decorated with Arkansas.
"He kept me whenever I was a little kid. Mom would be working, and I would stay with him during the week. And he rubbed off a little bit."
The multi-position player was an asset on the mound the last two years, and while originally considered as a shortstop, he anticipates spending some time on the mound in Fayetteville.
"It's kind of up in the air," he admitted. "What I've known is that I'm going to go out there and do kind of a two-way kind of deal -- pitch and hit. I don't know if I'll play infield, outfield, what I'll be doing."
Hardin said that Bates is the type of player who is always improving himself.
"I think he's the second signee Lakeside's ever had to go play baseball at the university," he said. "You know, I don't know that I'll ever find a harder worker than Ethan Bates. He's always hitting, always lifting; he is doing something to get better, and, you know, the signing for him is a testament to that work ethic.
"He has worked himself into a player that can go up there and play and compete. And he's not a guy you can tell you can't do something. If you tell him you can't do it, he's gonna make sure he gets it done."
Muldoon, whose older brother is entering his senior season as a catcher for the Muleriders, hopes to catch for the Division II school, a position his brother currently fills.
"My older brother Zach Muldoon went there," he said. "He's been there for the past five years. I've been down there a lot, and I've become really comfortable with the campus and I believe it's the right spot for me. Just the atmosphere, everything, I like everything about it."
Muldoon suffered a broken finger last season, which limited his abilities, but Hardin said that the injury did not stop him from being a leader for the team.
"Ben's been one of the hardest workers," he explained. "He had a little setback last year, a broken finger. Being the great teammate he is, that never got him down. He continued to work with the team, continued to be a leader, help our kids get better last year, and he's taken those same qualities this year.
"He's healthy, he's gotten a lot stronger, and we look for him to be a leader for us this year, also. It's well-deserved. I can't think of a better teammate than Ben Muldoon, so it's well deserved for Ben to go to SAU."
Prince admitted that he wanted to take the junior college route in hopes of bettering his prospects down the road.
"They're a great place," he said. "They win a lot of ball games a year, and they have a good program. So that was a good fit for me."
Prince is a bit undersized compared to some other players, but that has not stopped him from doing his best on the field.
"Brady is one of the toughest kids you'll ever meet," Hardin said. "He's gotten to start since a ninth grader. He's always been a little bit undersized, but he makes up with that with his attitude and effort and his ability to outwork you and know that there's a way to beat you and he's going to find what that way is. For him to go to one of the best junior colleges in the nation, that's just a testament to him and who he is."
While his position will not be determined until after he gets to Neosho, Mo., Prince expects to see time in the middle infield, and he looks to take one significant thing he learned while at Lakeside into his collegiate career.
"Probably the work ethic that Hardin put into us," he said. "He really made us men, and made us have a good work ethic. I think that'll translate to the college level."
All three players said that the work ethic they learned from Hardin is something they plan to take to the next level.
"A big thing that we like to practice here is hard work," Muldoon said. "No slacking off. And I believe that that will probably be the most important thing because I know at SAU they don't take any slackers. So that's what I hope to go down there and do is work hard."
"It's really going to be the discipline, just my work ethic and stuff with coach Hardin because here we do stuff right, and we don't slack off or take shortcuts," Bates agreed. "That's really going to be one of my main things, and I feel like it's gonna help me prevail there and be a better person."
Sports on 11/16/2019