Over the course of three seasons, Taft Nesmith’s high school career was a steady progression up the ladder.

First, he was a relief pitcher, then a starter and, finally, an ace. Now he’s also a college signee.

The Warren Central left-hander signed with Southwest Mississippi Community College earlier this week. It was one last highlight in a senior season in which he emerged as the Vikings’ go-to guy on the mound and led them to a second consecutive Division 4-6A championship.

“It’s great. I really love the opportunity,” Nesmith said. “I’m thankful for the coaches pushing me throughout the years and making me the person I am today.”

Nesmith started a few games his freshman and sophomore years, but was used mainly as a reliever. He didn’t fully break into the starting rotation until 2015, when he went 4-0 with a 1.81 ERA and became the team’s No. 2 pitcher behind current Hinds Community College pitcher Layne Tedder.

This spring, he became an ace in his own right. Despite having just a 4-3 record that included two playoff losses to Northwest Rankin, he led the team in strikeouts and innings pitched, and averaged a strikeout an inning. Nesmith got the ball for some of the Vikings’ biggest games of the season, including Game 3 of the playoff series with Northwest Rankin and an early-season matchup against Class 5A finalist Oxford that might have been his best outing of the season.

In five innings in a 3-2 loss to Oxford, Nesmith allowed three runs on five hits, walked one and struck out five. Nesmith also pitched a complete game in a division win over Clinton when he struck out nine and walked two.

Nesmith credited his development to learning the science of pitching.

With a fastball that he says tops out at “80, maybe,” relying on location, changing speeds and throwing effective breaking pitches became a necessity.

“I feel like as I’ve gone on, I’ve started to make better pitches and making stuff count in big games,” Nesmith said. “It’s mainly just working on locating pitches and not throwing as many balls. I can throw any pitch in any count.”

Although it took until this year to emerge as a full-blown superstar, Nesmith has been on the radar as one of the top pitchers in Mississippi for a while. He was selected to play in the Crossroads Diamond Club’s junior all-star game last year, and in the senior game this spring. He’ll join teammate Brooks Boolos in playing in the Class 5A-6A game June 4 at Trustmark Park.

He also received attention from the state’s junior colleges. Southwest and Copiah-Lincoln both recruited him.

“I felt like (Southwest) had better facilities and more to offer,” he said. “I felt like I liked their coaching staff better and there would be more opportunity for me to get better.”