Welch signs to play golf with WBU

ARMOREL— Armorel senior Jackson Welch signed a national letter of intent Friday afternoon to play golf at the collegiate level with Williams Baptist University.

Welch, a multi-sport athlete for the Armorel Tigers, expressed he picked Williams Baptist because of his upbringing in a Baptist church as both his dad, Michael, and grandfather, Mike, pastor at Trinity Baptist in Blytheville.

“I picked WBU because I felt they were the right fit for me because I grew up in a baptist church,” explained Welch. “As for the golf team, I'm going to be a great teammate and I will work hard to be the best version of myself that I can be.”

Welch’s accolades on the golf course includes two time state champion with the Tigers golf team in 2023 and 2024, and a third place finish individual in state during his senior year. He also is a key contributor to the Armorel’s basketball and baseball programs.

Welch thanked a host of people including his Lord and Savior for giving him the ability to play golf.

“I would like to thank God first of all for allowing this to happen,” said Welch.”Also, Matt Huckabay for introducing me to the game of golf and my family, friends, and teammates for supporting me along the way.”

Tigers golf coach Shannon Miller mentioned that Welch has improved over the last four years and will continue to grow as he plays for Williams Baptist.

“We are proud of Jackson and his signing with Williams Baptist University. It is a well deserved accomplishment. He has improved his golf game each of his four years of golf at Armorel and he will continue to do so at the collegiate level,” explained Miller. “We are thankful for his contributions to our team and being a key player in our back to back state championships.”

Miller continued, “Williams is getting a great athlete and even better person to be part of their program.”

WBU Eagles head coach Jacob Webb was in attendance where he expressed excitement to have Welch joining the Eagles golf program.

“He’s a hard worker and I like his golf swing. We’re just excited to add some new guys that will come in and work hard,” Webb said. “We are going to be graduating quite a few over the next year or two. So it's really important to get new freshmen coming in that have lots of potential.”

Webb added he’s glad to have a signee who’s coming from a “winning culture” and hopes to sign more Tigers in the upcoming years.