Signings: More than 1,100 days after deciding, FPD's Ochs signs on South Carolina's dotted line (full roundup)

          For 1,151 days, Karsen Ochs was a South Carolina softball commitment.

          She finally became a South Carolina softball player, signing Friday morning.

          She joins a team that went 49-17 last year, 15-9 in the SEC, and becomes the second Central Georgian on the roster, joining former GMC standout Dixie Raley.

          Ochs had quite the career with the Vikings, helping them to one GHSA Class A Private state title and four Final Four trips.

          She was the Region 7 Player of the Year last spring, and holds the program record for career batting average (.466), hits (186), season hits (63) season ERA (.86), season strikeouts (246), career strikeouts (627), and is second with 23 career homers, 31 single-season RBI, and single-season wins with 19.

          Ochs has raised more than $26,000 for her Strikeout Hunger Campaign for the Middle Georgia Food Bank.

          Alasha Heard of Veterans signed to play at Kennesaw State. And Houston County’s Caitlyn Crawford will continue her career at USC-Union in South Carolina.

Earlier this week

          The Central Georgia signings continued Thursday.

          FPD golfer Jay Spivey will be able to get some fresh laundry and home-cooked meals while in college, signing Thursday morning with Mercer, while Mary Persons softball standout Destiny Middleton will be on her own after signing with North Carolina.

          Spivey helped the Vikings to the Class A title in 2016 and runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2017. He won the Junior Peach Blossom and qualified for the Southeast Junior tour, was sixth at the GHSA tournament in May, and third last summer in the Idle Hour Championship behind former Duke player Steve Welsh and ex-pro Coleman Tidwell.

          He picked Mercer over UAB, Elon, and South Florida.

          Middleton helped Mary Persons to a 17-11 record and second-place finish in Region 2-4A and a first-round playoff win over Cross Creek.

          Former Bleckley County standout Hannah Coulter is headed to Georgia after a year at Gordon State in Barnesville.

          She hit .312 last season with three homers and 23 RBI and will be in Athens this spring.

          Coulter joins Mary Wilson Avant of Stratford and Kylie Bass of Jones County with the Bulldogs.

          GMC’s Jordan Waller signed to continue her softball career at Albany State. She helped the Bulldogs to a 16-8 record and spot in the GHSA Class A Public playoffs.

          Lamar County’s Aishja Wilcher signed Thursday with Alabama State of the SWAC.

          Houston County’s Dawson Chandler and Cameron Jones are the latest to sign with Georgia State for baseball.

          Veterans’ Shaianne Sipsey followed up a recent commitment and signed a track scholarship at South Carolina.

          From Stratford to Starkville and the SEC. That’s the journey for Devin Butts, who signed a national letter intent to play basketball at Mississippi State Wednesday morning.

Butts was joined by two classmates at a signing ceremony.

          Will Chambless will play golf at Georgia State and Autumn Land softball at GMC.

          Butts has scored 627 points entering his senior season, with 105 assists and 179 rebounds, all in two years of varsity play. He was the 7-A Player of the year as a junior, and is in the top 10 at Stratford in single-season 3-pointers tried (sixth), single-season free-throw percentage (first), 3-pointers made (10th) and career 3-points tried (fifth).

          Chambless had a 74.5-stroke average last year. Land has a .315 career average with 110 hits, 50 RBI, 122 runs, and a .904 fielding percentage.

          Tattnall baseball player Trey Ham is headed to Lipscomb of the Atlantic Sun conference, a former league rival of Mercer.

          Ham helped the Trojans to last year’s GHSA Class A Private state title.

          Lipscomb, in Nashville, finished 24-30 last year but reached the A-Sun tournament championship.

          Westfield softball standout Riley Hickok signed with Mercer.

          She went 11-1 for the Hornets, including a perfect game in August, and helped Westfield to two GISA state titles.

 College signings

          Mercer lacrosse has added 13 signees this week, four from Georgia.

           Central Georgia Tech’s Anyeuri Castillo has signed with the Appalachian State men’s basketball program.

          The Meadowcreek grad averaged 11.9 points last year and shot 55.6 percent, helping the Titans to the NJCAA tournament.

          Stratford grad O’Showen Williams is a junior with the Mountaineers.

          The Mercer softball team signed eight players on Wednesday, including Westfield pitcher Riley Hickok, one of three players from Georgia.

          The women’s basketball team added three players, two from Florida.

          The women’s tennis team added one.