St. Thomas More and Rapid City Post 22 product Parker Sullivan has signed a national letter of intent to play baseball at Minnesota State University, Mankato beginning in the 2010-11 season.

Sullivan signed with the Mavericks on Monday at St. Thomas More with his father, Jim, mother, Bev, and brother, Barry, joining St. Thomas More football coach, Wayne Sullivan, who is no relation to Parker.

 “I just really liked the school and the facilities there are amazing,” Parker Sullivan said of the Mankato campus. “The coaches really made me feel comfortable and the town reminds me a little bit of Rapid. I just felt like it was the best fit for me.”

Sullivan, a two-time South Dakota American Legion baseball all-state selection as a centerfielder and a two-time Class 11A all-state selection as a wide receiver in football, said that the Minnesota school’s facilities wowed him. He considered offers from South Dakota State and Edgewood College in Madison, Wis., among others.

Wayne Sullivan said the Mavericks are getting a fine athlete and student.

“It’s a great day for Parker,” Wayne Sullivan said. “Parker has put in a lot of hard work and dedication, not only to baseball, but to everything he does. He’s a two-time all-state wide receiver, so that right there tells you what kind of athlete he is, but he’s a great student and young man off the field as well.”

Sullivan, who plans to major in sports medicine, has one more summer of eligibility left with Post 22, so he will spend it roaming center field for head coach Dave Ploof’s squad. He won’t play football in college.

“I’m sure I’ll miss football, especially when I go watch a game,” he said. “But hopefully baseball keeps me busy enough that it’s not too bad. I’m really looking forward to playing up there.”