GLASGOW – Jared Coomer has a guaranteed job waiting for him after college.

Coomer, a standout forward for four seasons at Barren County, signed his letter-of-commitment with the United States Air Force Academy during a ceremony Friday at his high school. He’ll spend a year at the U.S. Air Force Preparatory Academy, then is ticketed to join the Falcons’ varsity men’s basketball program the following season.

“It’s kind of a dream come true,” Coomer said. “I’ve been wanting to play college ball since I was a little kid and to play it at the Division I level, it means a lot.”

Coomer said he wasn’t really thinking about a career in the military until he was contacted by Air Force assistant coach Nate Zandt earlier this past season. Zandt came to Glasgow to see the 6-foot-7 senior firsthand, and Coomer didn’t disappoint in an 88-61 home win over Caverna as he tallied 21 points and 12 rebounds.

Air Force sent another assistant coach later in the season to watch Coomer work out during practice, and shortly after the offer came. Before Air Force was in the picture, Coomer had been considering ways of rejoining his older brother, Wade, on the basketball court. Wade Coomer is currently playing his freshman season at Olney Central College, a junior college in Illinois.

But with Wade’s encouragement, Coomer decided to accept the offer from Air Force.

“Air Force, it’ll be a challenge and the first year with the prep will definitely help me get adjusted to their environment and help me get a little stronger as well,” Coomer said.

Barren County coach Warren Cunningham is confident Coomer will excel at Air Force, based on his basketball skills, strong work ethic and high grades.

“Jared had a lot of opportunities to play college basketball and the reason that he had so many opportunities was two-fold – because of the outstanding player that he was and also because of the outstanding student that he was,” said Cunningham, who added that Coomer carries a 3.6 GPA at Barren County and scored a 27 on his ACT. “So we’re very proud of him, looking forward to where this is going to take him and the opportunities that it is going to give to him.”

As a senior for the Trojans, Coomer averaged 16.9 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. A four-year varsity player, Coomer finished his career at Barren County as the school’s seventh-leading all-time scorer with 1,335 points and grabbed 790 rebounds. He never missed a varsity game, suiting up for 128 contests in four seasons with the Trojans.

Coomer said his future role with Air Force – a member of the Mountain West Conference – hasn’t been spelled out yet, but he thinks the best fit on the court would be as a wing.

“I like playing inside and out, but I like playing on the perimeter,” Coomer said. “It’s probably my favorite place to play at.”

Cunningham thinks Coomer will blossom at the next level.

“He played in a lot of different spots and he had a lot of different roles for us, but it’ll be more defined when he gets to the next level,” Cunningham said. “He probably won’t have to bring the ball up the floor and get every rebound. He helped us do everything.”