Signing Day: Carnes, Garcia sign letters of intent for East Texas Baptist University
May 5—Palestine Wildcats Ty Carnes and Ian Garcia both signed their national letters of intent Thursday to play soccer at East Texas Baptist University.
The list of Wildcat representation at ETBU continues to grow as Carnes and Garcia officially inked their letters to play on the next level. Tony Garcia, who was Palestine's District MVP this past season, also committed to ETBU earlier this year.
Former Wildcat Joel Garcia, who is the brother of Ian, also plays for ETBU. He was All-Conference in Fall 2022 while at ETBU. ETBU Head Coach Chad Cox is a former player and coach with Palestine. Cox enters Chad Cox enters his fifth year as the head coach for the men's soccer team after being the assistant for four years.
"All the hard work has paid off," Ian said. "It'll be fun playing with my brother there. It'll be nice to also share the field with [Ty] again on the next level."
Ian was All-District second team this past season, but he left his mark on the program during the run to the state title game. Ian had the game-winning kick in their game against the Celina Bobcats that sent them to the regional finals. He also had a goal in the regional finals that placed a stamp on their 3-1 win over Jacksonville.
"It was a lot of fun experiencing those moments," Ian said. "It was the only time in my four years I got to compete for a state championship. It was a goal of mine I wanted to reach."
Carnes was named the Co-Forward of the Year in his final season. Carnes scored a goal and registered an assist during their state semifinal win against the Lumberton Raiders. He also had a two-goal performance against Sabine in the Bi-District championship. Carnes was also a member of TASCO's All-State first team.
"It was a relief to finally get this out the way," Carnes said. "Ian, Tony and I have been close all three years since I've been here. I'm excited for us to play together as a group in college. Those are my guys."
Ian and Carnes excelled off the field as well. Ian was named to the Texas High School Coaches Association's Academic All-State second team, while Carnes was named an honorable mention.
"This year will be unforgettable for me," Carnes said. "Unfortunately, it didn't end how we wanted it but I'm fortunate to have made it with these guys. I'm going to miss the brotherhood here. I got here my sophomore year and everyone automatically accepted me."
