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Once a Cougar, always a Cougar. That’s the decision GCA athlete Aiden Whittaker made last week, as he signed on to play baseball at Columbus State University.

“We are certainly proud of Aiden,” said Grace principal Sean Johnson. “I’ve not known him nearly as long as some of y’all in this room… but I’ve certainly been impressed with him the last three years that I’ve been here.”

Johnson emphasized Grace students to do things to the best of their ability, quoting Colossians 3:23, which says, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.”

“So that’s our command,” Johnson said, “but we don’t get a promise afterwards on whether we’re gonna see the benefit of that. So it’s really a cool opportunity, I think, today for Aiden and his family, his coaches and previous coaches, to see the payout of hard work.”

When asked why he chose Columbus State, Whittaker attributed his decision primarily to the coaches: “I like the coaches, that’s the biggest piece,” he said. “I like the field, the field’s super nice, the facilities are nice, the school’s nice. Really they just make me feel at home.” Despite other offers, Whittaker said Columbus was “the clear Number One.”

“It feels great that people are behind me, that people believe in me,” he continued. “At times it’s hard to believe in yourself, because you know you fail a lot, and just having people behind you really helps with that.”

Whittaker intends to study exercise science and kinesiology at Columbus.