Geaux Ty Floyd!
Rockmart pitching ace signs with LSU’s baseball program
A senior pitching star at Rockmart High School will after graduation have aspirations to continue his baseball career in one of the top college programs in the nation.
Ty Floyd, who still has work left to do on the mound as a Yellow Jacket before he graduates in May 2020, will have the chance to suit up and take the mound for the Louisiana State University Tigers baseball team in their 2021 season. With his family, friends and fans surrounding him in Rockmart High School’s Media Center, Floyd signed the paperwork that puts him on a path toward an education.
“It means the world to me, I’ve always dreamed about it” Floyd said. “I never thought it would ever happen to me, but I think the hard work has paid off. I’m always thinking about wanting to be there, and it motivated me to do what I needed to do.”
He’s excited about the chance to become a Tiger, and once in school he plans to study sports administration with opportunities to further his education in law, or seek a management role later in life should his baseball career continue.
He said the coaching staff at
LSU attracted him to consider the Tigers and their previous success over the past few years pushed him toward Baton Rouge, but also the environment.
“People love baseball there,” Floyd said. “They’ve got it packed out all the time with season ticket
holders. It’s a great environment to play baseball in.”
Floyd announced his commitment to LSU during the first half of his junior year, before the Jackets made a title run that took them all the way to the final series and one game short of a title. The Jackets last season went 29-11 overall with a 7-AA title, and Floyd was honored as the RN-T Player of the Year in baseball.
He finished the 2019 season with a 10-1 record with 127 strikeouts while allowing only 11 hits and five earned runs over 61 1/3 innings for a .571 ERA.
Floyd also played following the close of the 2019 season in Oklahoma as part of Team Georgia with other juniors from around the state and country and Canada. His decision to go with LSU came over two other baseball programs in the running, Georgia and Vanderbilt.
He is the son of Shea and Tyson Floyd of Rockmart. He was joined by his parents, siblings Noah and Avery, and grandparents for the signing celebration.
“I really want to thank the community,” he said. “They’ve always been behind me and supported me through everything.”
It is entirely possible LSU fans could be heartbroken before the next baseball season. Floyd is also likely to find himself in the Major League Baseball draft, a place where Rockmart baseball head coach Kenny Yanzetich would not be surprised to see his ace senior pitcher.
“There’s a lot of potential there that’s untapped that we won’t get to see,” he said. “That’ll carry onto LSU, or we’ll see what happens with the MLB draft. I know that he’s on everybody’s radar, and he’s worked really hard to get to that point. If he stays healthy, there’s a lot there. And we hope to make another run here.”
Yanzetich is excited to see Floyd return to the mound for one more year not just because of his talent and hard work ethic, but because it also provides an opportunity for younger Jackets players to learn from Floyd’s experience.
“He’s like a mentor coach on the field, he’s always taken care of our younger kids and shown them the ropes,” he said. “He’s always encouraging them. Anytime you’re graduate a talent and a leader like that, your program is going to twinge a little bit.”
Teams from across the country came to court Floyd for his pitching talent, as far away as Stanford and Texas and close to home as Georgia Tech, Yanzetich said. He’s not only wanted for his place on the mound, but also for his academic efforts in the classroom.
“You go anywhere in the ACC and SEC, those were the people that were on him,” Yanzetich said.
That mirrored praise offered up by Athletic Director Barry Williams, who said that Floyd stood out as an example for the entire Rockmart student body of what is possible through hard work and extra hours devoted to developing brain and brawn.
Rockmart fans will get a chance to see Floyd return to the field when the season starts back in early February.