Cullman’s Kaitlyn Brannon, front and center, signs a national letter of intent to attend and play softball at East Mississippi Community College. She is accompanied by her parents, Jeff and Lindsay (middle), softball coach Stephanie Barlow (left) and Cullman assistant principal Kim Hall.

Kaitlyn Brannon is the type of athlete who doesn’t care about bringing attention to the things she does on or off the field.

Look no further than Tuesday eve, when the lone senior on Cullman’s softball squad modestly gathered around family, friends, teammates and administrators to ink a scholarship to attend and play for East Mississippi Community College.

In Brannon’s eyes? Another day at the beach.

And that’s just fine with Stephanie Barlow.

“That’s the kind of person Kaitlyn is,” the third-year coach said. “She’s really stepped up into a leadership role for us. I mean, it was like pulling teeth to get her to do this in front of everyone because she doesn’t really want people making a big deal out of things. That being said, as a coach, you’re so proud to see your players go through this process and be really excited about it.”

Brannon chose EMCC over Snead State, citing “their campus” and “it’s not that close to home,” as reasons for the decision.

“I’m very relieved and very excited for my future,” she said. “For me, I just wanted to get away from Cullman I guess and explore the other stuff that’s out there.”

The Scooba-based institution will be getting a good one in Brannon.

She notched a .316 batting average for the Black and Gold last season with 30 hits and 21 runs scored. Brannon was strong at second base — compiling a .982 fielding percentage. She was a key part of the Bearcats’ second straight berth to the regional tournament.

As the oldest member of the team, she’ll be called upon many times in the upcoming campaign.

“Absolutely,” Barlow said. “I couldn’t be more thankful for a player as good as her. Everybody loves her. She’s everybody’s best friend. We had such a long talk last year about her being the only senior and about how she needed to fill that role moving forward. She’s done it flawlessly.”

Brannon will have plenty of talent around her, including Claire Jenkins, Olivia Schwaiger, Elli Dixon and others.

Her job? To be the “grandma.”

“I just want to be a leader and try to get to Montgomery and the state tournament my last year,” Brannon said. “I can’t wait to get started.”