It's a moment that Benton's TJ Cocke has been working towards for a long time.
That dream became more of a reality recently when the BCHS senior signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at Kaskaskia College.
"It's a really big moment and something I have been working towards my whole life it seems," Cocke said on his day of signing, surrounded my family and coaches.
"The dream has always been to play college baseball and I have a lot of people to thank who have helped me out along the way, to get where I am today, my coaches, my family and my friends. It's just a really big moment for me."
In choosing Kaskaskia, Cocke said it was all he needed in a college, which he said has good programs for his major.
As far as losing out on a junior season, Cocke added it didn't necessarily complicate recruiting, but Cocke said it did make it different.
"It's been weird and it's a relief to have this all done."
Spyder Dann covers prep and college sports for the Southern Illinois LOCAL Media Group. Follow him on Twitter: @spydieshooter.
