ADAMS TWP — J.J. Wetherholt didn’t set out to make such a big decision so early.

It just kind of happened that way.

Only a freshman, the shortstop on the Mars baseball team was already getting looks from colleges this spring, including Division I programs Kent State, the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University.

But one trip in Morgantown changed his outlook.

To Wetherholt, the Mountaineers became the only school on his list.

He decided, “Why wait?” and verbally committed last week to WVU.

Wetherholt isn’t worried about taking himself off the market so soon.

“I think it’s fine,” he said. “It’s pretty firm. They like me and they like the way I play and I like them, obviously.”

Mars baseball coach Andy Bednar said he was also a bit surprised that Wetherholt had picked his college so soon.

But the longtime Planets’ coach wasn’t surprised that Wetherholt was already being heavily recruited.

“I was pretty confident he’d be a Division I player,” Bednar said. “His hands are the fastest I’ve ever seen and he has a really impressive knowledge of the game. He has a lot of confidence and he makes plays and battles at the plate.

“The best part is we have him for three more years,” Bednar added.

Wetherholt plans on making the most of that time.

As a freshman, he actually began the season on the junior varsity team and didn’t get his first at-bat with the varsity club until the final game of the spring trip to Myrtle Beach.

Wetherholt got a hit in that at-bat and finished his first game with a pair of hits and two RBI.

He played in 14 of the Planets’ 19 games and came up with a two-run triple in the WPIAL 5A championship game against North Hills at Wild Things Stadium.

Mars lost a heartbreaker in 11 innings, 3-2.

But Wetherholt served notice that he was going to be a big part of the Planets’ future.

“When I got that RBI hit (in Myrtle Beach), it put all my doubts away,” Wetherholt said.

Wetherholt is a left-handed hitter, but he didn’t start out that way.

When he was young and first picked up a bat, he swung it from the right side — until he saw his brother, Brandon, and his left-handed swing.

Wetherholt hit from the left side after that to be more like his brother.

Brandon Wetherholt turned in a stellar career for Mars and is currently playing at Gannon University.

“I have to give so much credit to my brother,” J.J. Wetherholt said. “I learned so much from him.”

Wetherholt is hoping to take more advantage of that left-handed swing.

It’s already a good one, capable of spraying hits all over the field. But Wetherholt hopes to add some strength as he grows into his 5-foot-8, 170-pound frame.

“I definitely want to get bigger and stronger,” he said.

Wetherholt also wants to become quicker and be more of a base-stealing threat.

Wetherholt swiped six bags last season.

There’s nothing wrong with his footwork and hands.

That is a testament to his work with Chuck Rouda and No Offseason Baseball in Mars.

“He hit ground balls to me but he wouldn’t wait for me to catch it before he’d hit another one,” Wetherholt said. “He’d just pepper me with ground balls, one after another.”

That helped Wetherholt make such an impact as a freshman at a premium defensive position.

He made just three errors in 14 games at short.

But it’s the intangibles that really grabbed the attention of college baseball coaches.

“One of the big things they told me when they came to games was they saw how I hustled all the time,” Wetherholt said. “They told me most players don’t make some of the plays I do and that I play the game the right way.”