LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — Athletes all around Kentucky are signing letters of intent this week, but a ceremony Wednesday night at Transylvania University was like no other.

The Pioneers baseball team welcomed a recruit during halftime at the men’s basketball game.

Chapman Hillard has big dreams and an even bigger smile after he officially signed a letter of intent with the Transylvania baseball team through a program called Team Impact.

“I’m gonna be on Transy,” Hillard said.

“It’s really special,” Drew Hillard, Chapman’s dad, said. “I think we’ll understand the true impact after we go through a full season and he gets out on the field, but very, very special on how excited he is. The teams he has been a part of, he’s really enjoyed it, and really all he talks about, he’s really excited, and it’s hard to explain how special it is, but it is.”

The Team Impact program connects college athletic teams with children battling serious or chronic illnesses. Chapman’s parents noticed some problems with his development early on, and when he was five, tests confirmed he had a rare chromosome disorder.

“Team impact has been amazing so far,” Chelsi Hillard, Chapman’s mom, said. “I think it was maybe in July; you have to, like apply for it, provide everything: the medical documents and everything they need. Then they accept you, and then they reach out to other schools, and I guess when reached out to Transy, Coach Getsee chose to take Chapman on.”

“Chapman was born in 2014 and had some mild development delays, but cognitively talking, just talking before he was one, and then around five years old, there were some things that came up, and we had some tests done and found out that he had 2q37 deletion syndrome, which is a rare chromosome disorder,” Drew said.

Through the program, his involvement with the baseball team includes attending practices and games and interacting with players.

“To have, you know, Chapman floating around there, I think it’s just another person for them to embrace,” Transylvania’s Head Baseball Coach Getsse said.

Chapman said his favorite sports team is Kentucky, but he is excited to wear number 36 as a pioneer.