Georgia gets Houston County pitcher

WARNER ROBINS -- Tony Locey is just ready to play baseball again.

He missed the end of last season after transferring from Hardaway to Houston County late in the spring and has been only able to hit the weight room with his new teammates.

Houston County head coach Jason Brett admittedly doesn't know a whole bunch about Locey, but he does know thing. His staff has a pitcher headed for the SEC.

Locey signed his national letter-of-intent with Georgia on Friday. It was an odd event for Locey, whom Brett said didn't really want anything, since he hadn't played for Houston County yet. That will happen soon enough.

But signing with Georgia, which came on hard in recruiting recently, made everything good.

"I had about 35 full-ride offers," said Locey, a hard-throwing right-hander who visited N.C. State and Rutgers and had committed to and de-committed from Georgia Southern. "I've been a Bulldog all my life. I've been waiting on this offer."

A strong summer season put Locey on more big-school radars, leading to him re-opening the process.

Left-hander D.L. Hall has committed to Florida State, so the Bears' pitching staff will open the season with some high expectations. Brett is sure Locey will deliver.

"I've seen him in the weight room," Brett said. "He's got a really good work ethic. It's going to be fun."

This story was originally published November 13, 2015 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Georgia gets Houston County pitcher ."