A little over two years ago, Kristian DeJeet traded the Palmetto tree-lined landscape of Charleston, S.C., for Murrysville, a town you envision when you think of the word "suburb."

And with his family moving to this area, DeJeet, a baseball standout, also left behind something most consider to be conducive to continued hardball development.

"The weather," DeJeet said. "Well, the weather is a whole lot different up here. Down in South Carolina, we were on the field, opening up practice on Jan. 1 and going from there. We were out on the field right away, doing everything. Here in Pittsburgh, though, you could never think about doing that."

Nonetheless, this kid who transferred to Franklin Regional late in his sophomore year and played two seasons for the Panthers hasn't had his goal of playing college baseball derailed. He'll be headed to Marietta College in Ohio soon.

Marietta is the reigning NCAA Division III national champion. It defeated Wheaton College for the fourth title in the school's history.

Division I programs Ohio and Duquesne were interested in DeJeet, but neither offered a scholarship and, when it all shook down, Marietta was his best option.

"The facilities at Marietta are unbelievable," he said. "They have a new $10 million athletic facility with great equipment and their baseball field is beautiful. Honestly, it looks like a minor-league field. Although it is a small town, it is a great little college town and the baseball is as good as it would be at most of the lower Division I schools."

DeJeet, a right-handed hitter, was primarily an outfielder in high school. Marietta plans to use him there, his natural position.

While heading off to college is undoubtedly a transition for anyone, DeJeet might not have as much trouble dealing with a new situation because he has already been uprooted once.

His father, Kris, is a retired United States Air Force pilot and now works in the same capacity for FedEx. When Kris DeJeet retired from the service, he decided to move the family to this area, which was sort of a homecoming. Kris DeJeet and his wife, the former Karen Takacs, are both Gateway High School graduates. Kris DeJeet was also a standout tailback for the Gators football team.

Also making the transition easier will be that Kristian DeJeet already knows a few players in his recruiting class at Marietta.

He will be joined at Marietta by two other WPIAL standouts who recently graduated: Hampton's Chris Beatty -- a power hitter who drilled home run after home run late in the year -- and athletic catcher Kevin McGuire, a Peters Township graduate who was on the short list of the top WPIAL players from this past season.

In the works is a plan for DeJeet and McGuire to share living quarters, as the two know each other from various summer leagues in the past.

"We talked to the people at Marietta," DeJeet said. "Kevin and I are not roommates right now, but we put in a request to do that. They said the first one that comes open, they will put us in so there is a really good chance Kevin and I will be living together when we get to college.

"I'm just excited about getting there and starting college."