CONWAY — No pitcher in the history of University of Central Arkansas baseball has recorded as many wins as Connor Gilmore.

Or as many complete games.

Or as many shutouts.

Or started as many games. Or pitched as many innings.

After an exceptional career with the Bears, the name Connor Gilmore is written all over the Central Arkansas baseball record book.

And now, it's also on a professional contract.

Gilmore, a 6-foot-5, 220-lb RHP out of Little Rock Catholic, became the latest Bear to extend his career and join the pro ranks – officially signing with the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, a week after getting the call he'd long been waiting for.

"It's great to get to continue playing baseball and be a member of the Braves organization," he said. "I got a text on the last day of the draft asking if I'd be willing to sign, and I said 'Yeah, absolutely', and then waited a bit and finally got the call. I didn't go in the draft, but it's all about the same. I got a phone call and a foot in the door and that's all I need. It's pretty cool to get to be doing this."

Gilmore will report this week to the Danville Braves, the Braves' Advanced Rookie-level team in the Appalachian League.

"I'm really excited for him," said Central Arkansas head coach Allen Gum. "He did so much for our program during his four years here. He's the all-time wins and shutouts leader, complete games, and on and on. He pitched in some big games and got some big wins for this program. It's exciting to see his hard work pay off with this opportunity to play at the next level in the Braves organization. I couldn't be happier for him."

The call was one that Gilmore had waited for, and waited for, and had nearly given up on.

"I knew it was a realistic thing that I could get a call so I'd stayed by my phone, and when it finally happened it was somewhat expected," he said. "But at the same time I'd also tried to stay open-minded to the fact that it could all be over for me with baseball, but then that prayer got answered. They called and said 'sorry we didn't get to you earlier, but we'd love to sign you as a new member of the Braves organization.'

"It was an emotional roller coaster that day," he said. "At first I was saying 'ahh, screw this' and getting mad at myself and at baseball in general, thinking it was time to move on I guess. Finally they called and I broke down. It was emotional – there were some happy tears."

So then he got out of the pool.

"I wasn't even at my house," he said. "I was with a buddy at a pool. So it was cool to be able to share that with him. He rushed me home, I ran inside and hugged my mom and told her the news, then dad got home a little bit later and we got to tell him. It didn't start like I wanted, but turned out to be a pretty good day."

Gilmore first made waves during his freshman season with a 5-0 record with a 0.73 earned run average, then followed it up over the next two seasons by going 15-6 with a 2.69 ERA, throwing nine complete games and a pair of shutouts. 

But then, his senior season did not go as planned, as he struggled to a 2-8 record with a 5.15 ERA and opponents hitting .283 against him – 50 points higher than any previous season.

Fortunately, his entire body of work was enough to prove him worthy of a look for the Braves.

"I didn't have the best senior year, definitely not what I wanted to have," he said. "But over four years, they'd seen my stats and ability to win and pitch in big games. I guess it was enough to turn a couple heads, and I showed enough to where they were interested."

Moving forward, moving past that senior season is what Gilmore knows will be key to his progression and success as a pro.

"I need to forget about it," he said. "To be honest with you, I didn't have a great year. I was blaming myself for a lot of things that happened, losses we had and all that. I've got to forget about all of that and turn the page to a new chapter. I need to get my confidence back a little bit. A new bit of scenery might help with that. By the end of the year, my confidence level was pretty low because of how I pitched and how things turned out, but I've got a chance to start over and get back to the old Connor."

The old Connor – the one who scored the most important win in program history as a freshman in 2013 with a complete-game, 2-hit shutout of Southeastern Louisiana for the program's first Southland Conference tournament championship, earning the Bears an automatic berth in the NCAA regionals. The one who followed that up with another gem with a 4-hit shutout of Sun Belt Conference champion South Alabama to put the Bears in a winner-take-all championship game against host Mississippi State.

The one who returned at the end of his senior season, making two relief appearances in his final weekend at Bear Stadium, throwing five innings and allowing just three hits and picking up his first save as the Bears swept league-leading Southeastern Louisiana to clinch the program's highest Southland Conference tournament seed ever.

"I look back and see how things happened my freshman year – I had never even thought about winning a championship and getting dogsled on," he said. "I will carry that with me the rest of my life. That was the moment that really opened my eyes and let me know I can pitch at this level and be successful. I ran with that from there on – knowing I was able to compete at a high level in Division I, and now I get the opportunity to do it at the professional level. So I just have to keep those things in mind and put that senior season behind me. I've got my shot with the Braves now, and hopefully it'll work out from there and I can keep moving up, getting better and progress as a professional athlete."