A left-handed ace and a key figure in the Warriors' run to the Class A Elite Eight last spring, Palmer recently announced his intention to play Division I college baseball at Dallas Baptist University.

Palmer chose the rising program at Dallas Baptist over the more established program at Evansville, among other suitors.

With the commitment, which he will make official by signing a National Letter of Intent in November, Palmer becomes the first athlete from Westminster Christian to land a Division I scholarship.

As a junior last season, Palmer posted a 10-2 record with an ERA of 0.22 and 123 strikeouts in 79¿ innings.

The Patriots coaching staff includes head coach Dan Heefner, a graduate of Olivet Nazarene, who later coached at Northern Iowa and Creighton. The pitching coach is Travis Wyckoff, who previously coached at Creighton and Iowa.

The DBU staff noticed Palmer this summer when he competed for the McHenry County Hurricanes in a tournament in Charleston, SC. Within five days they were calling him and Palmer made an official visit in September.

Palmer said his mind was made up during his visit to Dallas Baptist, which last year competed against schools such as Rice, Oklahoma, TCU, Gonzaga and Texas A&M and defeated the likes of Northwestern, Houston, St. John's Toledo and national power Mississippi State.

"I felt really good about the way they I was treated, not just as a baseball player but as a person," Palmer said. "The entire visit was high class. They treated me like one of their own players. I got a chance to hang out with the guys, I stayed over at a dorm with them one night, and I felt at home basically.

"Evansville was a nice school, but I felt the Christian community at Dallas Baptist was huge for me. I love the Evansville baseball program, but the school wasn't the right fit for me. Dallas Baptist was a good fit all the way around."

The Division I commitment is yet another indication of the rise in level of play at Westminster, which made its first Elite Eight appearance in baseball last spring and fell one game shy of reaching the Elite Eight in boys soccer this week.

"It's just another chapter in Westminster Christian's book as far as the athletic program goes," said Ben's father, Westminster athletic director Rick Palmer. "Ben's dream was always to play Division I.

"He's excited. We're excited. The distance will be a factor, but they play a lot on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, so we'll try to make three, four, five trips a year."