Tuscola's Penland, Stepp sign with USC Union baseball

Jun. 3—Tuscola seniors Jared Penland and Mason Stepp signed with the University of South Carolina at Union during a signing ceremony at Tuscola High School's gymnasium on Monday, May 23, among coaches, family and friends.

Penland and Stepp will join former Mounties' ball player Trent Turner, who enrolled at USC Union last fall.

The USC Union Bantams baseball team competes in the National Junior College Athletic Association and are coached by Micah Stancil, who played a short stint in the minor league system, as well as in the international league system as a pitcher.

Penland's opportunity arrives

Penland transferred from Erwin after his sophomore year and finished out his final two seasons as the Mounties pitcher and a solid hitter. He was named an all-conference player this season.

"What I like about Jared, is anything you tell him to try or anything you tell him to do, he does," said Tuscola head baseball coach Zach Shepherd. "He's a coachable kid, a funny kid. This is special for him. When this offer came in for him, I feel like it made a lot of stress [disappear]."

Penland said getting to play college baseball has always been a dream of his.

"Sometimes it felt out of reach, but it's always been something I worked for and looked forward to," he said. "To see it finally come true is pretty cool."

Getting to play alongside side his friends makes it even better.

"Going to college in general is kind of a scary thing, but going down with one of my close friends will make it easy to adjust," Penland said.

Penland said USC Union reminds him a lot of home.

"Small town feel, actually similar to Waynesville a lot. It's a comfortable place," he said.

Holly Penland, his mother, said she is excited for him.

"I think it'll be great for him to go somewhere where he already feels comfortable," she said. "He was excited about this opportunity from day one. I think this is the place for him. I think he'll do great."

Stepp signs his intent

Mason Stepp was five years old when he started playing baseball, and Shepherd has coached him all four years at Tuscola.

"He's a special kid," Shepherd said. "He was five foot eight, 120 pounds as a freshman and sophomore. Then, coming into last year, he hit that growth spurt. He threw a little bit as a junior and worked really hard this summer on pitching and he ended up being pretty dominant this spring."

Stepp, who was selected as an all-conference player, said this season had its share of difficulties.

"It was kind of a struggle because I started throwing strong, then I had a shoulder injury. We got back to it and I've been throwing hard ever since. That's what has got me to this point," he said.

Stepp echoed Penland's senitiment that USC Union's smaller size reminded him of Waynesville.

"I really like it down there," he said. "It's a smaller school so it will be more personalized classes. Overall, it will be better for me."

He can't wait to compete with Penland, just like they've been doing for years.

"Jared's my inspiration. We're competing all the time in games, whether it to throw harder or throw more strikeouts. I think we make each other better overall," Stepp said.

Rhonda Stepp, his mother, said it's been a really exciting time.

"He had a great senior year and the opportunity presented itself," she said. "I'm really excited that he'll already know some people there. I think they're going to be really successful."

Tim Stepp, his father, said he never expected his son to be playing college baseball.

"Mason has a lot of dedication and drive and I think he'll be a diamond in the rough for them," he said.

Shepherd said USC Union is getting two solid additions to their bull pen.

"They're getting to tremendous young men, first off. They're also getting two guys that will help them immediately. They need help on the mound, so we're sending them two kids who can compete right away," he said.