Chris Prentiss was born into a baseball family, with current and former major leaguers like Delmon Young, Dmitri Young and Roosevelt Brown sharing bloodlines and influencing his love for the sport.

Until this season, however, Prentiss was a long, long way from having anything in common with them on the field. He was a role player for Vicksburg High who struggled to find his niche in the game.

This spring, all of that changed.

The 6-foot-2 senior developed into a capable shortstop who sprayed line drives all over the field. He upped his batting average nearly 50 points from last season. And, this week, he got a chance to continue his career when he signed a letter of intent with Copiah-Lincoln Community College.

“I feel like it’s a blessing. I’m very excited. I was smiling all day (Wednesday),” said Prentiss, who signed Wednesday morning. “It was a stress reliever, because when the season started I didn’t know if I was going to have any offers.”

As Prentiss watched a number of friends around town sign with colleges and junior colleges to play football and basketball, following them to the next level became a goal. Getting there was going to be a challenge, though.

Prentiss played in 37 games as a sophomore and junior for the Gators, but mostly in a part-time role. He only had 63 at-bats combined his first two seasons and a batting average of .270. To become a prospect he’d have to make a big leap.

“I wanted to play college ball. I didn’t want this to be my last year of baseball,” he said. “I saw a lot of friends signing for football and basketball, and it made me work harder.”

Prentiss changed positions from the outfield to shortstop, and became a capable defender. He also worked to become a better hitter and raised his average from .261 last season to .314 this year. He went 8-for-10 on stolen bases this season.

Vicksburg coach Derrick DeWald said Prentiss’ raw athletic ability, as well as his improvement, made him a target for several junior colleges. Co-Lin, Holmes and four-year schools Tougaloo and Belhaven all showed interest.

“He’s probably the most athletic person we had on the team. Overall, I think (junior college) coaches saw his athletic ability more than anything. He’s got unbelievable range at shortstop and a cannon for an arm,” DeWald said. “The scary part is, I don’t think he’s even reached the top level yet. He’s got a lot more to offer. He could be a guy who goes beyond Co-Lin.”

Just like the better-known members of his family did. Prentiss said a lot of them had been wishing him well, but not putting undue pressure on him to play well or succeed like they had. That came from within, and now he’s taken the first step toward following in their footsteps.

“Everybody supported me,” he said. “I think I was more worried about it than anybody else.”