Jake Rice, center, signs his letter of intent to play baseball for Marion Military Institute while his parents Jim and Leigh Rice look on. Rice is a left-handed pitcher for the Hartselle Tigers. | Randy Garrison

Randy Garrison

Hartselle Enquirer

Hartselle High Senior Jake Rice signed a letter of intent to play baseball with Marion Military Institute recently. Rice, a left-handed pitcher, transferred to Hartselle his junior year from Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham to play ball for a school known for their baseball throughout the state.

Rice signed the intent to play with Marion Military in Marion, Al on Jan.29. He will play for Coach Matt Down, who was the 2015 Alabama Community College Coach of the year. He also wants to earn a leadership degree from a military college.

Rice was also offered scholarships to Alabama A&M, Lee University, Wallace State and Lawson State.

Rice is a member of the HHS Class of 2016 where he is ranked 57 out of 206 and has a 3.689 GPA. In addition to athletic scholarships, he was offered three academic scholarships. He is a member of the National Honor Society, a HHS Ambassador, voted Junior Class Favorite and a member of the Performers Choir group. He is also a Tiger Buddy working with special needs students.

When he is not playing baseball, Rice enjoys wakeboarding, water skiing, hunting and traveling.

He is the son of Jim and Leigh Rice.