Nathan Watson is excited. Excited and relieved.
The recent Huntsville High School graduate is excited because he’s going to college this fall with a golf scholarship in hand. Watson is relieved because there was a day not too long ago when his dream of playing college golf looked rather bleak.
“This is a big stress reliever,” Watson said Saturday, a few days after signing his scholarship offer from Lon Morris College, a two-year school in Jacksonville that has a strong golf program. “It was a stressful time this spring. I didn’t know where I was going to go to school, and now it’s happening.”
The top medalist at the District 18-4A tournament this spring, Watson spent many hours fretting, trying to figure out where he was headed after concluding a successful high school golf career. A senior leader, Watson helped Huntsville return to the Class 4A State Golf Championships in May, but for some reason he did not attract much interest from four-year universities.
Frustrated, Watson did not know what to do next. His mother, Lucinda, did. She sent out letters and e-mails and told golf coaches about her son.
Suddenly, Watson began hearing from college coaches. He took three campus visits — to Florida Tech, a four-year NCAA Division II school, to Hill College, a junior college in Hillsboro and to Lon Morris. Immediately, he was sold on Lon Morris and the Bearcats’ winning program.
“Lon Morris has a lot of tradition, it’s the oldest junior college in the state of Texas, and their golf program is ranked number one in the state of Texas. So that was a hands-down pick,” Watson said. “They finished fifth in the national tournament, but their number one player broke his wrist right before the tournament.
“It’s really pretty in Jacksonville. The campus is kind of old-style, and it wasn’t in the desert somewhere like Hill College. The facilities they had there were good. Everything was clean, and everything was mainly new. I also liked the golf courses. They are similar in some aspects to the courses here in Huntsville, but they have more rolling hills and some of the holes are tighter.”
Watson’s parents are thrilled to see their youngest boy accomplish another goal. Starting at a junior college may not have been on the radar a few months ago, but his father believes Nathan can learn a lot and take the steps necessary toward his ultimate objective, which is getting an education and playing golf at a four-year university.
“Nathan wants to play Division I golf,” Eric Watson said. “Lon Morris has the kind of program that, in his mind, offered him the best chance of reaching his goal. Honestly, I didn’t want Nathan to be going off to school just to be playing golf. But hopefully, he will find a way to get an education and play a little golf along the way.”
Huntsville golf coach Marcus Evans believes Watson made a wise decision when he chose Lon Morris. If Watson continues the hard work that started back in middle school, the Hornets’ coach says the sky’s the limit.
“As Nathan goes to school, does his job in the classroom and continues working on his game, everything will work out like he wants it to,” Evans said. “I’ve talked to many Division I golf coaches, and they like recruiting successful junior college players. They’ll recruit both junior college and high school players and fill their rosters with a combination of players.
“If Nathan continues to develop he will have some options when the time comes. He’ll also have two years of college under his belt.”
Sports
Watson takes first step
Hornet golfer signs scholarship offer from Jacksonville’s Lon Morris College
- Sports
-
-
Schallenberg: Time is now for Bearkats in Southland tourney
The Bearkats look to take care of business this week in the Southland Conference baseball tournament.
-
Alpha Omega Academy trio shine at state track meet
Freshman brings home four medals, including two golds
-
Tough night for Kats against Rice
The Bearkats had a golden opportunity to make a lasting impression for a potential at-large bid in the NCAA tournament with fifth-ranked Rice coming to town. Sam Houston’s bats couldn’t get going early enough or be able to link enough hits together against the Owls pitching staff and succumbed to a 5-0 loss in the final game of the season at Don Sanders Stadium on Tuesday night.
-
BEARKAT BASEBALL — Plenty up for grabs against fifth-ranked Rice
For several reasons, today’s game against fifth-ranked Rice is going to be a biggie for the Bearkats.
-
SHSU MEN'S BASKETBALL — Kats sign ‘winner’ from Trinity Valley
Will Bond, a 6-3 guard from Trinity Valley Community College, has signed a letter-of-intent to attend Sam Houston State University and play men’s basketball for head coach Jason Hooten.
- RUNNING SHORTS: New study confirms the benefits of running
-
BEARKATS BASEBALL — Sam Houston wasn't going to be denied regular-season title
With four conference games left to play, all that kept Sam Houston from a Southland Conference regular season championship was just one win. Whether it was at Central Arkansas later in the week or in the Kats’ conference home finale on Sunday, just one victory would hand Sam Houston it’s first regular season conference title in 23 years. Relaxed and ready to pounce, Sam Houston jumped all over Southeastern Louisiana’s pitching staff early and relied on a strong starting pitching performance from senior Michael Oros. The Kats cruised to an 8-3 victory over the second-place Lions and the celebration was on.
-
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT — Bearkats fall to Texas State in Southland Conference softball tournament title round
A gallant effort by the Sam Houston State softball team ended Sunday afternoon as the Bearkats fell 3-0 to No. 1 seed Texas State in the finals of the Southland Conference Tournament at Roadrunner Field.
-
SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE OUTDOOR TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS — Sam Houston men place fourth, women ninth at outdoor championships
Led by the Bearkats’ gold medal-winning 1,600-meter relay team of Trey Jones, Brian Hellaire, Jesse Martinez and D.J. Hayes, Sam Houston State’s men’s track and field team finished fourth, while the Sam Houston women finished ninth at the Southland Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships in San Marcos over the weekend.
-
BEARKATS BASEBALL — Sam Houston closing in on Southland championship
- More Sports Headlines
-



