Three Vinton County athletes sign to play in college

Three recent Vinton County High School graduates turned a signing ceremony into a snapshot of a program that keeps pushing athletes to the next level. Wyatt Channell, David Northam and Zach Ramsey each left with a college destination, and the moment reflected more than individual success. It pointed to a Vinton County athletic culture that has kept producing players good enough to move from McArthur to the next stage.

Channell and Northam signed to play baseball at Hocking College, while Ramsey signed with the University of Rio Grande RedStorm to continue his football career. For Vinton County, the three commitments added another layer to a school year that already showed the Vikings could compete in the Tri-Valley Conference-Ohio Division and still send multiple seniors forward.

Channell was the centerpiece of the baseball class. The Vikings’ pitching ace struck out 75 batters during his senior season, then earned the TVC-Ohio Offensive Player of the Year award and shared Defensive Player of the Year honors with Athens’ David Sharp. Vinton County tied Meigs for third place in the 2026 TVC-Ohio baseball standings, and Channell’s work helped power a team that finished 13-10 after a tournament loss to Logan Elm, where he took the loss in his final start. He also said baseball had always been his main sport, and reaching the next level marked a major accomplishment.

Northam’s path gave the program another reason to celebrate. After transferring from Circleville for his senior season, he earned All-TVC-Ohio recognition and delivered one of the season’s biggest swings with a grand slam against Westfall. He also handled first base well enough to draw notice beyond the box score. Northam said college baseball was a goal he had always wanted, and a pair of strong seasons gave him the confidence to make the jump.

Ramsey’s next step takes a different route but comes from the same Vinton County standard. A standout lineman and pass rusher who also played baseball, he showed the kind of multi-sport toughness that small-school programs rely on. He will head to Rio Grande, where the RedStorm football program has been under former NFL player Mike Bartrum since late 2025 and competes at the NAIA level in the River States Conference.

The broader picture is hard to miss. Vinton County placed four players on the 2026 All-TVC Ohio baseball team, and the school has already seen football send multiple players on to college after the 9-2 2023 season. Three signings in one ceremony made that pipeline visible again, and it gave younger Vikings a clear example of what can come from buying into the program.