AUGUSTA, Ga. - Augusta State head baseball coach Chris Cooper didn’t have to look far to land his first signee of the spring recruiting period.

Cooper announced Thursday that Kip Custer, a 6-1, 185-pound left-handed pitcher from Augusta, has signed a national letter-of-intent to join the Jaguar Baseball program for the Fall, 2010 semester.

A member of the Augusta Crusaders home school team, Custer has helped the Crusaders advance to the Home School World Series as both a junior and senior.

“Kip has a mid-80’s fastball, an above-average curve and a very good changeup,” Cooper said. “We believe Kip can step right in and pitch some very important innings for us. We expect him to compete for a spot in our rotation and we’re excited for him to join the program.”

Cooper recently completed his first season at the helm of the ASU Baseball program, leading the Jaguars to a 16-31 overall record. ASU is expected to return five starters and 28 letterwinners from its 2010 squad.