Four years ago, Caleb Pitts was a freshman at Morgan Academy just trying to fit in. Pitts had spent the majority of his childhood in Delaware and also spent some time in Ohatchee before his family moved to Selma.

“It was a bit of a culture shock. Everybody wears a little bit different clothes and has a little bit different preferences,” Pitts said of moving to Selma. “I liked the people down here when I first came, and I think the hardest thing when you first come is people have their experiences with each other and their inside jokes. It’s just something you have to build over time.”

It didn’t take Pitts long to make friends and to become an integral part of both the basketball and football teams.

“Sports is a great outlet of getting to know people here, football especially,” he said. “There’s just a lot of trust building. You come closer together when you’re going through three-a-days.”

Now, as a senior, Pitts is about to wrap up his athletic career at Morgan Academy.

From here on out, every time the ball is tipped, it could be his final game in a Senators’ uniform.

Morgan will take part in the Alabama Independent School Association state basketball playoffs starting Thursday. Pitts is a big reason the team is there after a 14-point performance against Monroe Academy Tuesday that won class AAA, region 2 and earned Morgan a spot into the state tournament. The win over Monroe was Pitts’ final home game in a Senators’ uniform.

“It meant a lot to end my [home] career at Morgan with a win,” Pitts said. “It felt good that I could help my team in the way I was able to.”

Regardless of what happens, this is a fitting end to his time with Morgan. Pitts has never participated in a playoff game at the varsity level, so he’s ending his career on a high note.

“This is really the first time I get to play in a playoff atmosphere, so it’s pretty exciting,” Pitts said.

Outside of sports, Pitts is a good student that plans to pursue a business degree in college.  His father Jonathan is an associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Selma.

“I’d say my dad is the person I look up to more than anybody else,” Pitts said. “He’s really taught me where my security is in my life and not to get too caught up in materialistic things.”

His mother, Monica, is about to graduate with a nursing degree from Wallace Community College Selma.

She’ll be walking across the graduation stage this spring, just like Caleb.

“We kind of laugh about it that we are going to graduate at the same time,” Pitts said.

He also has two younger siblings — brother Micah, who plays with him on the basketball team, and sister Abby.

Presumably, he’ll have plenty of family support when Morgan plays in Montgomery in the state quarterfinals next week. The Senators won’t be one of the favorites in the tournament, but they hope to surprise some people.

“I think we’ve got to trust each other and just play as a team,” Pitts said. “I think we’ll be fine if we do that.”