Infielder Jake Williams wasn’t sure if he’d ever play baseball again, much less earn an opportunity to keep playing at the next level.

In December 2019, Williams was involved in an all-terrain vehicle accident that kept him in Jackson until spring 2020 getting treated and rehabilitated, which forced him to have to repeat the 11th grade during the 2020-21 school year. 

The MHSAA eventually gave Williams a medical hardship exemption, which allowed him to play baseball at Clarkdale one more season despite being a student at the school for five years — he usually would have lost eligibility after his fourth year of high school. Friday afternoon, Williams signed with the Mississippi University for Women to continue his baseball career after a successful senior season, in which he helped Clarkdale make it back to the MHSAA Class 3A state semifinal round.

“It was a blessing from God,” Williams said. “That’s exactly what it was. I shouldn’t be here, but He let me play again and let me be with the best teammates and best coach, and it’s just been amazing. It really has.”

Williams was joined by teammate Walker Swearingen, who signed with East Mississippi Community College as a pitcher during Friday’s signing ceremony in the high school library at Clarkdale.

“This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while,” Swearingen said. “I worked hard for it, and the coaches helped me get to this point.”

MUW baseball coach Scott Mularz just completed his first season at the school, and Williams said he has a good rapport with the Owls’ staff, a key factor in his decision to sign with MUW.

“The campus was amazing, and I loved the people around the campus when I went down there and toured,” Williams said. “The coach is probably the No. 1 reason. Coach Mularz got there this year, and he’s just the best man. Everything he talked to me about the team coming up (as far as) what they wanted, it’s what I want to be a part of. I can tell he’s a great man, so I’m excited.”

For Swearingen, EMCC is a place with which he’s familiar, and he said he’s eager to get to Scooba.

“I love Coach (Brett) Kimbrel and Coach (Chase) Reeves and all the coaches,” Swearingen said. “I grew up going there as a kid with my dad because he went there, so I’m really looking forward to it. I prayed for an opportunity to get to play after high school, and I got it, so it means a lot.”