Rusk lefty JD Thompson to pitch for Vanderbilt
Jan. 13—RUSK — JD Thompson, a left handed pitcher from Rusk High School, made it official on Wednesday, when he signed a national letter with Vanderbilt University of the Southeastern Conference.
Thompson had verbally committed to the Nashville institution early last spring.
The 6'-0", 180-pound Thompson posted a 13-1 record, with one save, for the Eagles during their historic — the Red and Black finished as the Class 4A state runner-up for the first time in school history — season a year ago.
In 99.2 innings of work on the mound, he allowed just 24 hits, struck out 194 opposing batters while giving up only 19 walks. He finished the year with a 0.35 earned run average.
Among the bevy of accolades Thompson received last year was an All-State Tournament selection and being named to the Texas Sports Writers Association All-State squad as a first team pick.
Vanderbilt, who was ranked No. 1 in the nation for a while last season, has been voted into the top five in several preseason polls this year, including being ranked No. 1 in Perfect game's preseason poll.
The Commodores finished as the national runner up in 2021. The team posted a 49-18 record (19-10 in the SEC).
Thompson was coached by Ross McMurry at Rusk.
Thompson was one of four Eagles that were featured in a signing ceremony that took place inside Eagle Coliseum. Joining Thompson were fellow Eagle baseball standouts Will Dixon (Stephen F. Austin State University) and Mason Cirkel (Kansas Wesleyan University) along with Owen McCown, who signed a national letter to play football at Colorado University.
