Oak Harbor High School senior James Besaw will play baseball for the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts next spring.

Besaw signed with the Trailblazers from North Adams in a ceremony at Oak Harbor High School Wednesday, March 28.

Besaw researched and visited several Northwest schools in a quest find the right fit. He did not consider an East Coast school until MCLA, a Division III school, called last winter and invited him out on a recruiting visit in February.

Besaw liked the school and the fact it is near family. His maternal grandfather is from Massachusetts, and Besaw has been a Red Sox fan since going to a Boston game at Safeco Field when a cousin from Massachusetts visited several years ago.

In fact, his parents, Jim and Teresa Besaw, promised James a trip to Boston to watch the Sox as a graduation gift if he met certain academic goals. Now the trip will double-up as a move back East, according to his mother.

Besaw has played baseball year round since entering high school, playing both fall ball and in the summer when not competing for the Wildcats.

The first baseman plans to play for the Washington Rush, based out of Everett, this summer before going to MCLA.