2 Holy Cross athletes to sign with Arkansas, LSU

“I used to live up there after Katrina. I know the atmosphere of the school, and I know who is leaving,” Moore said. “I know if I go work, I’ll have a chance to play right away. That’s very important to me as a freshman.”

He’ll play for John Pelphrey, who is in his first season as the Razorbacks head coach after a stint at Mobile, Ala., school South Alabama. Arkansas will lose six seniors from this year’s team, all of whom contribute.

“I like his style of basketball,” Moore said of Pelphrey, who played Kentucky and also coached at Florida under Billy Donovan. “Up temp, run and gun. I’m that type of player and I think I’ll figure into that system.”

Ott, an all-state pitcher, will sign a baseball scholarship with LSU. He led the New Orleans area in strikeouts with more than 100 as a junior, and led the Tigers to a 5A playoff appearance. Ott helped the Holy Cross-based Ponstein’s claim the American Legion Southeast Regional Championship this past summer.

“I was thinking about this the other day, I remember sitting down as a kid watching TV and thinking about how cool it would be to play for LSU,” Ott said. “It’s always kind of been a dream. My house got ruined in a hurricane and my mom and dad, they’re going to buy a house in Baton Rouge where my dad works.”

Proximity and family ties played a role in Ott’s choosing LSU over Rice, Louisiana-Lafayette and UNO.

“It definitely factored in,” Ott said. “I wanted to have grandpa see me play. It’s always been my dream, and always been his dream to see me play in college.”