Like most high school seniors, Bowen Woodson looked for a college with a strong academic history when he started his search.

Finding one with a strong baseball history is an added bonus.

Woodson, a third baseman for Vicksburg High, has accepted a scholarship offer from Tulane. He plans to sign a letter of intent next week along with the rest of the Green Wave’s signing class. He is the fifth Vicksburg player to sign with a Division I school since coach Jamie Creel took over in 1999, joining Robby Goodson, Justin Henry, Jordan Henry and Tyler Wells.

Woodson hit .370, with seven home runs, and eight doubles while helping Vicksburg reach the Class 4A championship series last spring. The speedy Gators’ leadoff man also drove in 33 runs, scored 37 runs, and had 22 stolen bases. Equally impressive are his stats in the classroom — he has a 3.95 grade point average, scored a 30 on the ACT, and will be the salutatorian of Vicksburg High’s Class of 2009.

Although it will still count against Tulane’s baseball scholarship limit because of NCAA rules, Woodson will attend college on an academic scholarship.

“It’s such a good school. You know after four years that if nothing else happens you have one of the best degrees in the country,” said Woodson, who plans to go to medical school when his undergraduate work is done. He added with a laugh, “I might be there for a while.”

Woodson got on Tulane’s radar through not only his strong junior season, but his play with the Jackson 96ers select team over the summer and coaching scuttlebutt. After Woodson sat down with Creel to discuss his baseball future, the coach made a few calls to get the word out to schools that fit what Woodson was looking for. UAB, Memphis, Samford, Louisiana-Monroe and Louisiana Tech were also recruiting Woodson, but Tulane easily trumped them all.

“It ended up being a perfect fit,” Creel said. “He wants to be a doctor, so that narrows it down to academic schools. Tulane had seen him play and were interested in him.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com.