From the time he was a little boy, Jacob McNairy has wanted to wear the crimson and white as an athlete at the University of Alabama.

Monday evening, McNairy’s dream came true.

McNairy, a rising senior pitcher and second baseman at Athens High School, announced his commitment to the Crimson Tide baseball program on Monday evening via Twitter. He had called new Alabama head coach Brad Bohannon to make his commitment earlier in the day.

“I visited the university (Monday) morning and they showed me around and showed me all the baseball facilities and academic programs,” McNairy said. “I called them back that evening and told them I was committing there. The facilities are unreal off the charts. It’s the nicest college baseball stadium I’ve ever been in, for sure.”

As a pitcher, McNairy went 8-3 last season with a 1.93 ERA, 68 strikeouts and eight walks in 61 2/3 innings. His fastball has been clocked at 90 mph, according to Perfect Game. McNairy also hit .407 with 18 doubles and 39 RBIs. He was selected first-team All-State as a second baseman.

Despite his great numbers as a batter, McNairy said he will focus on being a pitcher only in college.

Athens High baseball coach Chuck Smith said he is not surprised McNairy will be continuing his baseball career at an SEC program.

“Ever since I’ve been here, Jacob has been a very hard worker,” Smith said. “He has kept his nose down and done everything he is supposed to do. He does everything he can to not only make himself better but push the guys around him to be better, too. As a coach, you wish you had an entire team of guys like that. That’s a special leadership quality he has which will help him all through life.”

McNairy’s visit to Alabama might have crystallized his decision, but playing athletics at the university has been a goal he has harbored for a long time.

“Ever since I was little, that’s where I wanted to go,” McNairy said. “If you would go up to me and ask where I wanted to play, (Alabama) is where. Growing up, that was the goal, and to be able to make that happen is a dream come true.”

Alabama struggled through a 19-34-1 overall record and just 5-24-1 record in the SEC, leading to the firing of coach Greg Goff. Bohannon was hired to turn the program around, and McNairy said he likes what he saw from the new coach.

“I watched his (introductory) interview and listened to him talk,” McNairy said. “He has a good plan and a great history in coaching. The goal going forward is to make Alabama the best school to play baseball in the country. That’s what you want when you play and that’s why I’m excited to be able to play at Alabama.”

While McNairy has committed to play at Alabama, he still has one more year of high school baseball at Athens. Smith said he believes McNairy’s collegiate decision can push the Athens baseball program to even higher heights.

“It gives our program the sense of that’s what we want to be,” Smith said. “The way baseball is and the talent of baseball around our area right now, it’s a big thing for Athens High School to have. I believe that’s something the kids coming up can grow on. They see somebody from Athens High School going to an SEC school and they know they have a chance to do the same thing if they do what they’re supposed to do and put in the work. We have a very talented class of baseball players at Athens, and I’m sure there are going to be some other guys playing college baseball as well.”