Jason Jarrell's parents Denny and Paula will have twice as many reason to drive to Evangel University next year.
Jarrell recently signed to play baseball for the Crusaders and his older sister Allison will be a senior on the basketball team.
The family connection to the school provided Jarrell with a little more familiarity, but it wasn't the reason he chose the school.
"I just liked being around the guys and the atmosphere," Jarrell said. "The campus is really pretty, lot of nice buildings, nice people."
Jarrell, who made All-Conference and All-District as a junior, participated in an intrasquad scrimmage when he visited the campus.
He caught and was given the opportunity to bat at the end of every inning.
"I did pretty good, got some good pop time and got a few hits," he said.
He was offered a scholarship that day, but in no hurry, Jarrell took about a month to consider his future. He thought about it if was the right fit academically, financially, and logistically with Springfield being a 3 1/2-hour drive away.
"I'm looking forward to being around a good group of guys, a good group of coaches and having some fun," Jarrell said.
Jarrell caught and played center field as the Bearcats went 9-13 on the season, eventually losing in the MSHSAA Class 4 District 1 quarterfinals to Kennett.
Over 22 games, he finished with two home runs, nine RBIs, scored 16 runs and drew 14 walks.
On March 30 when Dexter beat Neelyville 17-6, Jarrell had his best offensive day of the year with four RBIs after going 3 for 4 with two runs.
He had a home run as part of a 10-run first inning and an RBI single in the fifth. He closed the season strong and scored in each of Dexter's final four regular season games. In that stretch, he also had four RBIs and his second home run of the season.