It was after his freshman year in high school that Chris Tremblay knew he could play collegiate baseball.

Last Wednesday, the Seneca Valley senior shortstop made it official by signing on the dotted line.

Tremblay inked a letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic careers at Kent State University.

He recently narrowed his choices to three schools: Kent State, Kentucky and Winthrop.

"The difference was that Kent State has some of the best coaches," said Tremblay. "(Head coach) Scott Stricklin played at the Triple A level. And the assistant coaches all have a lot of experience as well.

"The program is building a winning tradition," Tremblay added.

The Golden Flashes tallied a 36-27 record last season, their last under longtime coach Rick Rembielak.

Kent State won the Mid-American Conference tournament before losing to Notre Dame in the NCAA tournament last spring.

After the season, Stricklin, who played for Rembielak at Kent State, took over the reins.

The Golden Flashes have won two MAC regular season titles and two conference tournament titles in the last four years.

The program has produced 41 major-league draft picks in the last 16 years, including current Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher John Van Benschoten.

Tremblay hopes that his name eventually will be added to that list.

"One of my goals is to be drafted after my junior year," he said.

As a junior last season, Tremblay batted .551 from the third spot in the Raiders' lineup.

"His best attribute as a hitter is that he hits the ball where it is pitched," said Seneca Valley coach Eric Semega. "He can take the ball to the opposite field."

Tremblay started for Seneca at second base his freshman season.

"After my freshman year, I knew I could play with the bigger boys," said Tremblay. "That was the turning point for me."

Since then, Tremblay has improved in every aspect of them game.

"Chris has the whole game," said Semega. "Whether it's speed, hitting, throwing or fielding, he can do it all."

"In both fielding and hitting, Coach Semega has spent a lot of time with me working on the basics," Tremblay said. "That's probably where I've improved the most, with the details of the game."

The 2005 season will be Tremblay's third as the Raiders' shortstop.

"When you play shortstop, you're the leader of the infield," Tremblay said. "It's a position that requires you to be agile. A lot of things are riding on your ability to make plays."

Tremblay doesn't expect nor does he want to be sitting the bench during his freshman season at Kent State.

"The coaches said they're looking for me to be an impact player as a freshman," he said. "But nothing is going to be handed to me. I will have to prove myself. I want to start my freshman season."