Colquitt County pitcher/first baseman Aubrey McCarty signs to play his collegiate baseball at Vanderbilt. Shown beside him are his mother Caroline McCarty, left, and sister Rebekah Hines. At back, from left, are Danny Copeland, McCarty’s speed and conditioning coach, Packers baseball coach Tony Kirkland and McCarty’s father Frankie McCarty.

When Colquitt County High pitcher/first baseman Aubrey McCarty took a visit to Vanderbilt, he felt like it was the right place for him to work on a degree and begin his collegiate baseball career.

Of course, it didn’t hurt that Vanderbilt has the reputation of producing outstanding pitchers, including current American League Cy Young Award winner David Price of the Tampa Bay Rays and Mike Minor of the Atlanta Braves.

With family, friends and teammates celebrating with him, McCarty signed on Wednesday with Vanderbilt in a ceremony at the high school media center.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pounder, who is a rare ambidextrous pitcher, led the Packers with a 9-2 record and a 2.86 ERA with 49 strikeouts in 58.2 innings last season.

The 2012 first-team All-Region selection also handles the bat well and hit .295 with five doubles a home run and 20 runs batted in as a junior last spring.

McCarty began to make his mark as a Packer as a sophomore when he went 2-2 with wins over Coffee and Benedictine.

Packers baseball coach Tony Kirkland sounds as if he expects McCarty to do well as a Commodore.

“I don’t think I’ve ever coached a harder worker,” Kirkland said. “You won’t find anyone who outworks him.

And not just on diamond, Kirkland said, noting that McCarty also is diligent in the weight room, in summer baseball leagues and even with his father Frankie, who has thrown him untold numbers of balls.

“All that extra time and hard work has paid off,” Kirkland said. “The ceiling is unlimited for him.

“Vanderbilt and the SEC are getting a gem.”

Zach Grage, Colquitt County’s pitching coach, says McCarty grown into being the kind of player the younger Packers can look up to.

“I can use him as an example,” Grage said.

McCarty is the third Packer in three years to sign to play for a Division I program, following Cole Pitts, who signed with Georgia Tech two years ago, and Matt Creech, who signed with UNC-Charlotte last season.

“We hope that’s something that will continue,” Kirkland said.

McCarty says he will continue to throw with both arms during his senior season with the Packers next spring and expects to use the same approach at Vanderbilt.

The Commodores approached McCarty the first day the school was able to make contact and it recruiter say him play 17 times.

And when he went for a visit, “it just felt right up there,” McCarty said. “Everything was great. We spent about 2 1/2 hours with them.”

And while he will be about seven hours from home in Nashville, he said his family is pleased with his decision.

In addition to playing for the Packers, McCarty has spent his last two summers playing for the Home Plate Chili Dogs. He also has played for Diamond Exposure, the Georgia Heat out of Cordele and Moultrie’s Georgia Black Sox.

And it was a busy off-season.

McCarty said that at one point last summer he was away from home for 22 straight days, starting with playing for Team Georgia in Oklahoma.

He went from there to tournaments in Minneapolis, Minn., Atlanta, Memphis; home for two days; Atlanta again; and Syracuse, N.Y.

And while he is obviously looking forward to playing collegiately, he and his Colquitt County High teammates will be seeking a third straight region championship this spring.

“Hopefully, we can make it all the way,” he said, referring, of course, to a state championship.