SUMMIT – Shane McKinley and Jesse Travis, two of Southwest’s top sophomore pitchers, used the NCAA early signing period to ink scholarships with Division I schools for the 2014-15 school year.

McKinley, a left-hander, chose the University of South Alabama in Mobile. He played high school baseball at Northshore in Slidell, La., prior to moving with his family to Tylertown for his senior year. As a senior, he helped lead Parklane Academy (McComb) to the state championship series and was named to the MAIS All-Star team.

McKinley fielded several offers before electing to go with the Jaguars and Coach Mark Calvi.

Travis, a hard-throwing righty, chose to go with Coach Casey Dunn and Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. Travis was an All-District standout at nearby North Pike High School where he helped his team to the playoffs in all three of his seasons there. He has been clocked as high as 93 mph.

Following his freshman year at Southwest, Travis was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 35th round of this year’s major league draft.

“This is just the beginning,” said Southwest head coach Lee Kuyrkendall. “We should have a large group of sophomores who will have some great places to choose from as this year progresses. These two pitchers stand out to most who see them and pitchers are the ones who usually get the early offers.”

“I know they will both be successful at the next level,” Kuyrkendall went on, “and we are very excited to watch them perform for us in the spring.”