Hillsborough High senior baseball player Marlon Mitchell has verbally committed to North Carolina State.

Mitchell, a catcher, said he chose the Wolfpack “because it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I liked the coaches and it seemed like a good place for me to continue my baseball career.”

Mitchell said he also had interest from UCF, Miami, LSU and Bethune-Cookman. He added he will sign with N.C. State during the early signing period in November.

“I’m very happy,” Mitchell said. “It takes a lot of stress off me.”

Mitchell spent this summer vying for a spot on the U.S. 18-under national team. He was one of 36 players invited to Phoenix, Ariz., in July for the weeklong national team trials, which included a series of practices and intrasquad scrimmages.

Mitchell said he suffered a wrist injury on the second day of the trials that hampered his performance the rest of the way. He was not one of the 18 players selected for the 18-under national team.

The U.S. 18-under squad, which featured former Clearwater Central Catholic right-hander Ryan Weber, recently won a silver medal at the IBAF World Junior Championships in Edmonton, Canada. The U.S. fell 7-0 to Korea in the gold medal game.

Weber had an outstanding tournament, posting a 2-0 record while striking out 19 and allowing only one unearned run in 17 innings.