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The LaGrange High baseball team had a whopping eight players (Kayden Sutton – Alcorn State, Sinjon Lash – Navy, Rob Skinner, Caden Wood and Cooper Stephens – Gordon State, Caleb Allen – South Georgia, Gryson Cockrell – Columbus State, and Brandon Bennett – LaGrange College) sign to play at the next level last week. It is one of the largest signing classes in the history of the program as the Grangers will soon disperse across the country. 

A trio of Grangers (Skinner, Stephens and Wood) are going to keep the good times rolling at the next level. All three went the JuCo route and will be suiting up for Gordon State in the fall.

“It kind of came out of nowhere,” Wood said. “All three of us went down there for a visit and we all liked it right away. Cooper committed first and he kept talking at us and we decided to join him.”

These three saw former LaGrange High baseball player Zack Thompson have two strong years at Gordon State before going on to play Division I baseball at Mercer. That helped make it an easy decision for these three Grangers.

“Seeing Zack go there and then go on to play at the Division I level really helped make the decision for us,” Skinner said. “We kind of all just decided as a group to go there.”

Skinner and Wood will be attached at the hip when they head to Barnesville. The Granger grads will be more than teammates, they will also be roommates.

“I don’t know what it’s going to be like, but I do know it’s going to be a lot of fun,” Skinner said. 

Stephens had a tough go of it at the end of his senior season, battling a back injury. He’s hoping to be 100% for his first college baseball season.

“It was really bad pain, but it meant a lot to me to come back and play with these guys in the playoffs,” he said. “It was hard to come back from that, but it was a real blessing.”

There are a ton of different routes for young baseball players to take. Sinjon Lash will be heading to the Division I level. The hard-throwing right hander will be taking his talents to the Naval Academy.

“It’s a prestigious school academically and there is the rivalry with Army that I’m already looking forward to,” Lash said. 

Lash is a true two-way player and will offer the Admirals a strong bat in the lineup as well. While Lash’s time with the Grangers was brief —- he had to sit out his junior season after transferring in —- he made an instant impact during his senior season.

Another player that had to wait his turn after transferring was Caleb Allen. The right-handed pitcher transferred from Troup High and had to sit out his junior season before making his debut as a Granger this year.

“I had surgery earlier in my high school career and then I had to sit out last year, so I had a rough path, but it helped shape me and lead me to where I am today,” he said. “It was so great to finally get out there and play with these guys this season.”

Allen will be heading to South Georgia for the 2025-26 school year.

“I recommitted from North Georgia a few months back to really weigh my options and South Georgia reached out to me and I really enjoyed talking with their coach,” Allen said. 

Gryson Cockrell has been committed to Columbus State since last summer. The versatile outfielder never wavered, even when he suffered a major leg injury during his senior high school football season.

“I felt like the decision might have been a little rushed at first, but then I ended up tearing my ACL in game one in the fall, and it ended up being a blessing, because I didn’t have to worry about the recruiting process while rehabbing,” Cockrell said. “It’s all in God’s timing.”

Cockrell worked tirelessly to get back for his senior season on the diamond. He did just that, and even though he never reached 100%, he proved to be a valuable piece in the lineup once more.

“I probably only ever got back to about 80%, but it meant a lot to me to get back out there and play with my guys,” Cockrell said. 

Kayden Sutton is also a former LaGrange High baseball player who committed well before the 2025 season commenced. Sutton will be heading to Mississippi to play at Alcorn State, an HBCU. 

“I was messaging a coach on Twitter, and he was a coach at Savannah State and he was going to offer me to go there, and then one day he hit me up and said he took a job at Alcorn State and wanted me there,” Sutton said. 

Sutton has been a Swiss Army knife for the Grangers during his stint in blue and white. He can play in the middle infield, the outfield, and was LaGrange’s no. 1 pitcher as a senior.

“They are recruiting me as a pitcher, but I will play anywhere they need me to,” he said. 

While the rest of the Grangers will spread across the country, one player is staying home. Brandon Bennett will be heading to LaGrange College to continue his academic and athletic career.

“It was one day at summer ball last year, and coach (David) Kelton just so happened to be there, and he told me he liked my game, and I really wanted to stay close to home,” Bennett said. “It’s a really good program that has had a really good run the last couple of years, so I’m excited to jump into that.”

Bennett, like Sutton, offers his team a lot of versatility. The former Granger can play either of the corner infield spots and is a dynamic pitcher as well.

“They want me as a two-way guy at first base and pitcher,” he said. 

This is one of the most talented graduating classes in LaGrange High baseball history. Many of these players helped the Grangers finish as 4A state runner-up in 2022 and 2023. 

The Grangers could have had nine players from this class heading to the next level, but Grady Westmoreland, one of the most gifted players from the class of 2025, passed on Division I offers to attend the University of Georgia.