Tyler Neises stars at shortstop for Dalton High School, but he says he’ll play wherever it takes when he gets to college — wherever he can get his bat in the lineup.
“You never know how it will play out. I’m just there for my hitting,” Neises said.
Neises, just before the start of his senior season with the Catamounts, signed Wednesday to play baseball at Georgia Tech. It’ll be the Yellow Jackets coaches who decide where Neises will hit the field this time next year.
Neises said he expects to play a corner position, first or third base, at Tech.
“Wherever they want me I’ll go,” he said.
Neises landed an offer from Georgia Tech in November of last year after a strong junior season netted him some more interest from colleges.
“It’s a beautiful campus and I have a couple of friends there,” Neises said. “Great coaches, great program. It just felt like the right fit.”
Led by head coach Danny Hall, Georgia Tech finished 36-24 a year ago and reached the finals of the Knoxville regional of the NCAA baseball tournament, falling to Tennessee.
The academic scene at Tech was also a draw for Neises, who said the current plan is to study business.
“If baseball fails, which I hope it doesn’t, they’ve got great academics which hopefully sets me up for the future,” he said.
Neises finally got to get on the field consistently for Dalton last season after an arm and knee injury knocked out portions of his freshman and sophomore campaigns.
Neises shined at the plate, with a .375 batting average and leading the Catamounts in hits.
Dalton coach Ronnie Natola, who spent time both as the coach of and coaching against Neises in middle school before getting the Dalton position ahead of last season, said Neises had to navigate a lot of adversity to make his college goals happen.
“The one thing that just impresses everybody is his maturity on and off the field,” Natola said.
Natola, Neises and the Catamounts are gearing up for a season that gets underway Monday with a home game against Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe at 5 p.m.
“I just want us to be as successful as possible,” Neises said. “No matter how it turns out, I’ll be building memories with this group of guys.”