Cypress Christian School holds first National Signing Day event

Ten percent of Cypress Christian School’s senior class was celebrated on National Signing Day as they committed to participating in athletics as college freshmen in 2020-21. This was the first time the school held such an event.

• Clayton Dean will be playing baseball at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
• Cole Greenberg will be playing soccer at Southwestern University.
• Luke Thompson will be playing baseball at Baylor University.
• Drue Hirth will be playing baseball at Kansas Wesleyan University.
• Elliott Jones will be swimming at Auburn University.
• JT Tackett will be playing baseball at New Mexico Junior College.

CCS Executive Director Jeffrey Potts applauded the honorees for their determination and said he was excited to see them lead and influence others at new schools next year. While these six seniors made their official decisions Nov. 13, he said he anticipates a total of 9 or 10 seniors will do so by the end of the school year.

Coaches introduced each athlete and celebrated their accomplishments, including Luke Thompson’s 91-mph pitch speed and four-time state champion Elliott Jones, who qualifies for the Olympic Trials in 2020.

“Whatever your dream or goal is, there are people [at CCS] in the form of coaches and faculty and staff that will help you achieve it,” Potts said. “It’s up to you to put in the hard work like these individuals, but they’ll help you achieve it.”

In his eighth year as head baseball coach at CCS, David Swan saw four of his nine starting players commit to play at colleges and universities with even more expected to make commitments in the spring.

Swan said he promotes a positive culture on the team and his players know that, whether they win or lose, their coaches will still support them.

“I know them a lot better than just as players,” Swan said. “We coach from the inside out, bottom up and build relationships. Not everybody’s going to be a collegiate baseball player, but they are all going to be in the world and be leaders and dads and husbands, so we really take that approach and are very personal as coaches.”