Ross James has been playing baseball since he can remember.  He pitched in a district game as a freshman at Notre Dame HS and started a district championship game as a sophomore.  Not too many pitchers can tout that at Notre Dame.  Ask him and he'll just shrug his shoulder as he isn't much for words, he lets his right arm talk for him.  He has ice in his veins and nothing seems to bother him.

"He's a cool customer for sure," said Notre Dame head baseball coach Jeff Graviett  "He has come up big for us many times in his career at Notre Dame and has played varsity his entire career.  His best pitch is his curveball but he's worked hard to develop his fastball.  He'll start the season as our Ace and that's saying a lot with the talent we have this year."

James played his last three summers for the Lids Missouri Bulls where he pitched against compeition that he wouldn't have seen locally if he had played Legion baseball.  "The Bulls play all over the place against great competition," said James.  "I'm sure my record would have benn better if I had played Legion baseball but I learned so much about myself pitching against other kids that will be playing college baseball.  The coaches were awesome and the experience helped me no doubt."

That experience and his hard work paid off as he has officially commited to playing baseball this fall for the Birmingham Southern Panthers, a Division III program located in Alabama.

"I wanted to play baseball and I wanted to play where it was a little warmer," said James.   It was a tough decision because I had other offers but it came down to me liking the school, the town and especially the coaching staff.  Coach Weisberg seems like a great guy and they have a solid program."

The head coach of the Panthers, Jan Weisberg, is a graduate of the University of Kentucky and is entering his 6th season for Birmingham Southern.  His squad has owned the Southern Athletic Association conference the last 5 seasons and he has a record of 150-52.  "We don't get a lot of Missouri kids coming here to play for us, " said Weisberg.  "Most kids are from Alabama, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.  We saw Ross pitch and liked what we saw."

His Missouri Bulls head coach, Todd Pennington is surprised he stayed on the market this long.  "Ross had a great summer for us," said Pennington.  "He had a couple games where he was unhittable.  He has some things to work on like all young pitchers but with his size and that curveball, the sky is the limit."

James not only excels on the mound but he excels in the classroom, something his parents stressed to him through his high school years.  "My mom and dad always expected me to get good grades and now I understand why," said James.  "It afforded me so many other opportunities that just my athletic skill alone wouldn't have gotten me."

"Kids don't realize how important grades and SAT/ACT scores are," said Mitch Wood, director of player development for the Bulls.  "There are only a handfull of shcolarships schools can give out and depending on budgets there is a limited amount of athletic money available.  If you have the grades and test scores, you open up so many more doors for yourself.  That's exactly what Ross did and we're proud of him."

He's just glad the decision is over and now he can concentrate on the upcoming high school season.  "We should be pretty tough," said James.  "All the pressure is off now, I just want to enjoy the season and help my team win it all."