Word has come today quarterback Jake Locker is going to play baseball this summer.

The Bellingham Bells of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League announced today that Locker has agreed to play for their team this summer.

Here is the press release from the Bells:

University of Washington quarterback and Ferndale High School star Jake Locker has signed
a contract to play baseball with the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League's Bellingham Bells during the 2008 season, Bells General Manager Dave Lewis announced today.

The Bellingham Bells are a member of the West Coast Collegiate Baseball League, a wood bat summer baseball league, and play their home games at Joe Martin Field in Bellingham, Washington.

"We are extremely excited to have Jake on the team,'' Lewis stated. "Not only is he is a great athlete who will bring his skills to our talented roster, but he is another great local addition to the team. Head Coach Brandon Newell has done a great job of bringing in local players.''

Locker joins his cousin Brady Locker and several other Whatcom and Skagit County natives on the Bells 2008 roster, which will be released in the coming weeks.

Newell added, "Jake fits well with our philosophy of winning with local players. We have taken advantage of the hotbed this area has become for baseball talent by bringing in players from the area.''

As a baseball player at Ferndale High School, Locker was named the Washington State 3A Most Valuable Player following his senior year, and was named to the All-State Team as a pitcher and outfielder. Locker joins Brady Locker (Ferndale), Matt Argyropoulos (Mark Morris), and Jordan Chambers (Sehome), as Washington All-State players on the Bells roster.

Locker was awarded the Pac Ten Conference Freshman of the year following his outstanding 2007 football
season. He established the modern record for rushing yards by a quarterback by amassing 986 yards in his redshirt freshman year.

"I am excited to play baseball this summer,'' Locker said. "There are a lot of exciting things happening with the Bells and I am going to have fun being a part of it all.''

UPDATE --- UW officials have notified us that Locker is not getting paid for this, though it wouldn't be an NCAA violation if he were. Student-athletes can be paid in one sport and still be an amateur in another. Oregon QB Dennis Dixon, who played minor league baseball last summer, is a good example.

However, in this case, the phrase "sign a contract'' means only that Locker has signed an agreement to play for the team this summer. UW officials say the ''contract'' is simply an agreement that they will play for that specific team and outlines the obligations of the player and the team.

Here's the website for the Bells as well as their schedule.