Bullard Brook Hill senior catcher Kendall Kerns was behind the plate last year as current Texas A&M players A.J. Minter and JB Moss took the mound.

Next year, Kerns could be facing his former teammates.

Kerns gave a verbal commitment Tuesday to play for Abilene Christian, a school moving up to NCAA Division I next year with plans to play the Aggies.

“With them going to Division I next year, that was huge,” Kerns said Wednesday. “They’re a great academic institution as well.”

Abilene Christian has competed as an NCAA Division II school, but with the planned step up to D-I, Kerns said the Wildcats will be playing teams like Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Arizona and Arizona State, a schedule that factored into Kerns’ decision.

Kerns led the powerhouse Guard with a .602 batting average last year. He hit a three-run shot in the state semifinal and went 2 for 3 with an RBI in the championship game Brook Hill won its second straight state title.

Finishing the year with 42 RBIs and eight home runs, Kerns was named to the First Team All-East Texas, along with Moss and Minter, who are now wearing maroon.

Kerns said he’s focused on his senior year at Brook Hill and ready for a three-peat.

“I wanted to get it out of the way, get that weight off my chest,” Kerns said.