Brandon Paul remembers when one of his former Aquinas teammates signed to play baseball at Presbyterian College because of the question he asked Andrew Williams almost 18 months ago.
"I said, 'Why go to Presby-terian?' You can do so much better than that,'" Paul said. "But the more I started looking into it, I saw they had a really good program."
Paul said he had mistaken the school for being a Division III member of the NCAA. By now, Paul knows Presbyterian as a Division I school that competes in the Big South Conference, because he became the third Aquinas player in two years to sign with the Blue Hose, joining Williams, an middle infielder, and Andrew Foushee, a pitcher.
Paul, a senior catcher, signed his letter of intent Thursday in the school's media center.
"Those three kids are once-in-a-generation kids for a (Class A) school," Aquinas coach Mike Laney said.
Laney said he will use the three as an example for future Irish players. Every time the Irish wrapped up a practice and tended to the diamond, he said, they would all retreat to the batting cages for extra work.
"They're all going D-I in baseball, and without fail they were the last ones off the field every day," he said.
Paul said Williams and Foushee showed him around the school on an official visit in January. Once hard-pressed to identify Clinton, S.C., on a map, Paul said he came to realize the school's charms.
"The more I looked into it, the more I liked it," said Paul, a four-year starter who hit .433 with 10 doubles this season. Aquinas opens the playoffs today at Calvary Day (Savannah), and Laney said Paul will pitch the second game of the doubleheader.
Paul hopes to have the same impact as his two former teammates, who have received significant playing time their freshman seasons at Presbyterian. Williams has started 36 of a possible 43 games and is hitting .299. Foushee is third on the team in innings pitched (42) and strikeouts (26).
"Hopefully, I'll be catching Foushee again real soon," Paul said.
Reach Matt Middleton at (706) 823-3425 or matt.middleton@augustachronicle.com.
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