J.R. Murphy is moving up in the baseball world. On Tuesday the 2004 Truckee High graduate and owner of the Nevada single-season strikeout record (139) signed a letter of intent to play baseball at San Diego State University.

“I’ve got a ton of family down there. A couple of my cousins go (to San Diego State), so it was a good fit,” Murphy said Wednesday night from Prescott, Ariz., where he is entering his sophomore year pitching for Yavapai College.

Murphy said he made a verbal commitment last Wednesday to transfer after this season, accepting a scholarship that covers about 75 percent of his tuition. In San Diego the 6-foot-3-inch right-hander will play for head coach and retired Major League Baseball star Tony Gwynn.

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“I can’t wait,” Murphy said.

Murphy chose San Diego State over the University of Utah and San Jose State University, both of which offered him scholarships after he made recruiting trips last summer.

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Asked if he was worried at all about the use of aluminum bats in NCAA Division I ” because Yavapai plays in a wooden bat league “Murphy answered, “No, not really. I’m confident [batters] will not touch [the ball]. They haven’t [at Yavapai].”

For the most part, Murphy is right.

In 49 and one-third innings over seven starts during his freshman year, Murphy compiled a 6-0 record with one save and two complete games. His earned run average, at 1.83, ranked 12th in the nation. Murphy allowed 32 hits and 10 earned runs while striking out 44 and walking 18, and opposing batters only managed a .186 average against him.