Matt Hamilton/Daily Citizen-NewsDalton High School's JP Tighe celebrated his signing to play college baseball for Georgia Southern University on Wednesday. Pictured are, front from left, James Coker (stepfather), Allyson Coker (mother), J.P. Tighe and John Tighe (father). In back row are Brian Harrison (Dalton assistant coach), Rhett Parrott (Dalton manager), and Jamie Johnson (Dalton assistant coach.)

DALTON, Ga. — From a young age, JP Tighe was driven to accomplish a dream to play baseball at the next level.

His path started innocently in the backyard and in the garage, doing anything he could to one day realize that dream.

Now, it’s come true.

Surrounded by friends and family on Wednesday at Dalton High School, the Catamount senior catcher celebrated signing his National Letter of Intent to play college baseball at Georgia Southern University.

“First of all it’s a blessing from God to give me the ability to make it this far where I’m at right now,” Tighe said. “It means everything because it’s what I’ve been striving for since I was a little kid. I’ve always dreamed of playing college baseball. It’s another stepping stone in my career and hopefully I can continue to play after college. This is a big step.”

“It’s seeing a dream come true that’s been planted in his heart as a young, young boy, that’s he worked tirelessly at and put in countless hours of work toward,” said Allyson Coker, Tighe’s mother. “It’s a great blessing to see it all happen and come to be.”

Coker added that she felt an incredible amount of joy seeing her son working so hard for something, then watching it happen.

“It was my hope and prayer for him knowing how badly he wanted it to happen,” she said. “Hours and hours of hitting and pounding baseballs in the garage and off a tee and at the indoor facility. There’s been a lot of travel games ever since he was 7, 8 years old through this coming summer. It’s been a great ride.”

Tighe officially signed in late November but had his celebration on Wednesday. He noted the importance everyone had in helping him get to college.

“It means the world to me having everybody here,” he said. “Everybody here today has contributed in some way to help me get here to this point. It’s really special for them to come celebrate this day for me because it’s just as much them as it is me. I wouldn’t be here without a lot of these people. It’s great to have everybody here.”

Amongst the crowd gathered Wednesday was Tighe’s Dalton Catamount teammates. Coach Rhett Parrott said it’s a great chance for them to see what’s possible.

“I’m excited for our guys that they get to be a part of it here with JP and see what it’s like to get this opportunity to get to play at the next level,” Parrott said. “They see JP work every day and see what he’s accomplished from that. They know they can see somebody like him, and he’s gifted athletically, but this doesn’t come without the work he’s put in on top of that. For them to see what it takes to get to this, it’s something for them to shoot for.”

Tighe joins a Georgia Southern team that went 38-21 in 2017. The current Eagles roster has one full-time catcher listed, redshirt sophomore Matt Anderson. Tighe is also the only catcher in his 10-member recruiting class. The Eagles’ head coach is Dalton native Rodney Hennon.

“The intention is to come in there and have a good fall and hopefully try to get playing time as quickly as possible,” Tighe said. “The more developed I can get when I get down there, the quicker I can keep progressing and hopefully I’ll have a shot to get a pretty good amount of playing time as a freshman.”

Parrott said he believes Tighe will fit in well with Georgia Southern, but will also be a successful person off the field.

“JP is an awesome athlete (he was the Catamounts’ starting quarterback) but I’m more proud of him as a young man and the person he is off the field,” Parrott said. “I’m excited to see what he’s going to do on the field, but more so, I know he’s going to be successful in life because of the person he is.”

Before heading to Statesboro, Tighe has one more season to finish up at Dalton. Coming off a Sweet 16 appearance last year and an Elite Eight team two years ago, he’s anxious to make the most of his final year at Dalton.

“First and foremost, I’m looking forward to Georgia Southern, but me and my teammates are going to continue working hard right now and try to go as far as we can this season and have a successful year,” he said.