Monday morning, Demopolis’s Bart Butler followed in the footsteps of his older brother Blake by signing a scholarship offer to play baseball for Central Alabama Community College.

“Getting to play college baseball, it’s a dream come true,” Butler said after signing to play for coach Don Ingram’s Trojans. “I’m very excited.”

Butler will not be able to share the same field with his older brother, who will already be a sophomore this spring for the Alexander City school after transferring from Walters State in Tennessee. But Bart will be teammates with former Demopolis star G.W. Washington, a freshman outfielder and pitcher for the Trojans.

“Getting to play with G.W., it’s a big help,” Butler said of having Washington already in Alex City. “I know he’ll be able to help me out this summer.”

Coach Ingram says Bart, a second baseman and pitcher on Demopolis’s 2005 4A state championship team, will be a big part of the CACC team as soon as he sets foot on campus.

“We feel like he’s capable of contributing right off the bat,” Ingram said Monday. “The biggest thing about Bart is that he’s a competitor. He doesn’t like to lose. He’s serious about the game and about being a student-athlete, and that’s the kind of player we want in our program.”

Likewise, Butler feels that Ingram’s program–one of the most successful in the state–is the right one for him.

“Coach Ingram demands so much hard work from his guys, everyone who plays there leaves a better baseball player,” Butler says. “That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Demopolis head coach James Moody says the scholarship is a more-than-deserved reward for Butler’s determination to succeed, even in the face of the leukemia that threatened him earlier in his Demopolis career.

“The thing I think about when I think about Bart is perseverance,” Moody says. “With Bart, hard work has never been a problem. This is a testament to him and his parents … there were a lot of tough times. This is a nice reward for him and his family.”

Before heading to Alexander City, Bart will play his final season in a Demopolis uniform. The Tigers are already in conditioning for the new season, with play beginning Feb. 20.