Ankeny senior Tamden Webb-Tate decided to go with his gut feeling.
The two-sport standout has verbally committed to play baseball next year at St. Charles Community College in Missouri.
“It was a really tough decision as I love both sports,” said Webb-Tate, who has also starred on the football field, “but I had to trust my gut and go with what I felt was the best decision for me.”
Webb-Tate, a catcher, helped Ankeny to a 53-16 record over the last two years, including a perfect 20-0 mark in the CIML Iowa Conference last season. The Hawks earned runner-up honors in Class 4A in 2020 and reached the semifinals in 2021.
Webb-Tate batted .271 with two home runs, 12 doubles and 23 RBIs as a junior. He was selected to the Iowa Conference second team.
As a sophomore, Webb-Tate batted .256 with one homer and 13 RBIs. He received all-conference honorable mention.
“St. Charles is a great place, and I felt it was the best place for me to develop my game and grow as a student,” Webb-Tate said.
Webb-Tate earned first-team all-state honors as a linebacker after helping Ankeny to a runner-up finish in Class 5A last fall. He led the Hawks with 69.5 tackles.
Webb-Tate also started on Ankeny’s state championship team as a junior, but he didn’t attract much interest from college football coaches.
“I definitely had more options when it came to baseball compared to football,” he said. “I had a few schools that I was considering for football but as baseball deadlines came up and no official offers on the table that I was considering, my decision was clear.”
