in
M
iii!
_r: riiaiiB^
m
u
"r
I -_J
■g
nm
...
’i ''
■:i.||;:;:.:
■
fmk
■
"
sat
jtei ,
Photos by Tanner Garza — THE BATTALION
'Not a big hoo-rah guy'
Outfielder Nick Banks leads by example in the clubhouse
By Andre Perrard
I t’s springtime in College Station.
I The smell of fresh-cut grass, pea-
I nuts and hot dogs fill the air. The
I chalk is down, the dirt is ready and
some Olsen Magic is ready to dazzle
visiting teams.
Baseball season is back in Aggieland,
and leading the charge into the 2015
campaign is the preseason second-team
All-SEC outfielder Nick Banks.
Banks is set to be a key piece of the
puzzle for A&M this spring. A sopho
more from Tomball, Texas, Banks
comes back for his second year after
notching a .327 batting average with
26 RBI and two home runs last year.
While A&M’s final, eliminating loss in
last year’s Houston regional came from
longtime foe Texas, Banks and the
team are ready to get back to work this
spring.
“We were disappointed losing in the
regional to Texas,” Banks said. “Being
our rival, losing to them in a big game
to go to the Super Regionals was re
ally disappointing, but I think we came
back stronger. Everyone is motivated
to get back, hopefully [we will] host a
Regional and a Super Regional so we
can get back to our one goal — winning
in Omaha.”
The team comes into the season
ranked No. 17 nationally. As with any
high preseason ranking, there are high
expectations for this team. Talk of rank
ings, records and predictions can weigh
on the mind of young players such as
MORE AGGIES
TO WATCH
LOGAN N0TTEBR0K
Banks. However, Banks said he and
the team do not fall into the trap
— this time around, it’s business as
usual.
“We’ve prepared all fall and
spring leading up to these upcom
ing games,” Banks said. “Our team
mates keep each other level-head
ed, and do not let each other get too
out there and forget what our goal
is for the season. You can’t think
ahead because when you think
ahead in a game, that is when you
get beat.”
The team looked for a leader
to stay on task and focused on its
ultimate goal of a win in Omaha.
They eventually found that leader
in Banks due to his “lead by ex
ample” attitude.
“He’s not a big vocal guy,” said
outfielder Logan Nottebrok. “He
steps into the role of leading by
example. He is not a big ‘hoo-rah’
guy, but whenever you are out of
line, he’ll put you in line when he
needs to.”
Head coach Rob Childress has
taken notice as well.
“I think he is one of the many leaders
on this team,” Childress said. “He has a
great combination of strength and speed
and plays with a chip on his shoulder.
His motor is running full speed all the
time. He is an honor to coach.”
In 2014, Banks stole seven bases,
while adding 10 doubles and two tri
ples. Childress said Banks’ rare combi
nation of strength and speed is possibly
.
111:1-1
wm
ICf'" ■
-
: .....
■
IJf
lil
-■>.
the best facet of his game.
Last summer, Banks was selected to
play for Team USA’s collegiate baseball
team. It was a chance for him to play
with some of the most talented play
ers in the country, an experience that
Banks said helped him grow both as a
player and as a person.
“To get invited to that [national ros
ter] was a blessing,” Banks said. “To
be around players that they see as the
best players in the country and hand-
■
:
selected coaches that are the best in the
country, it really makes you mature a
lot as a player and person. Yes, I think
it did mature me as a baseball player, but
I think it matured me more as a man.”
Banks and the team will shoulder
their expectations when the lights shine
down in Olsen Field on Friday night.
Texas A&M will begin the long jour
ney to Omaha at 6:30 p.m. against the
Holy Cross Crusaders.
/hr.
Outfielder
Nick Banks
was named
preseason
second-team
All-SEC.
Senior infielder Logan ■
Nottebrok transferred
to Texas A&M from
Temple Junior College
in 2014 and immediately IllLsSMit
served a role as the team’s
power hitter. He con
tributed seven doubles
and knocked a team-high
eight balls out of the park while leading A&M in
slugging percentage (.478).
GRAYSON LONG
mm max* wmmSL
5 MAKE-OR-BREAK
OPPONENTS
VS. NO. 7 HOUSTON
MARCH 6
■
m
Tanner Garza —THE BATTALION
Minute Maid Park plays host to this matchup as
part of the 2015 Houston College Classic that spans
March 6-8. Houston is led by second team preseason
All American starting pitcher Jake Lemoine, who
posted a 2.87 ERA in 106 2/3 innings last year.
AT NO. 28 ALABAMA
MARCH 20-22
i
Junior right-handed
pitcher Grayson Long |Jj|H
held the lowest ERA
(3.12) of pitchers with at
least 40 innings pitched a
year ago. He totaled 55
strikeouts over 89 1/3
innings pitched with an
opponent batting average
of .284. Long figures to be one of the three start
ing pitchers in the A&M rotation after starting 15
games last season.
BLAKE ALLEMAND
2015 season will give youthful
roster chance to prove itself
Senior infielder Blake
Allemand started in 53
games last year for the
Aggies with a .290 bat
ting average on 60 hits.
Allemand was one of
the team’s most efficient
players, drawing 34
walks, scoring 38 runs
and boasting a .397 on-base percentage, all of
which were team highs. He also contributed 118
defensive assists, another team high, in addition to
87 putouts.
ANDREW VINSON
Junior right-handed
pitcher Andrew Vinson
recorded all 36 2/3 of
his innings pitched last
season in relief effort.
With a 3-2 record and
2.95 ERA, Vinson struck
out nearly one batter
per inning with a 3.09
strikeout-to-walk ratio, one
returning pitchers this year.
of the highest for
By Cole Stenholm
Tyler Stafford
(g)JeffBlogwell
P"" ootball season is over and the
droves of camera crews that
showed up every Saturday are
leaving Aggieland almost as
quickly as College Station’s three-
week long winter, which can only
mean one thing — it’s baseball
season.
Stop me if you’ve heard this be
fore: The Aggies, while loaded with
young talent from a string of strong
recruiting classes, will need to prove
they can compete in the vaunted
SEC this season after losing sev
eral key players who chose to leave
school early for the draft.
No, I’m not talking about Manziel
and Evans. I’m talking about Meng-
den and Lankford.
Last year’s Aggies often struggled
to find a rhythm, but they showed
flashes of greatness, beating a few
highly ranked SEC schools in road
games that they had no business
winning.
A&M barely snuck into the
NCAA Tournament, where they
were matched against No. 1 seed
Rice and a very strong Texas team.
Somehow, the Aggies found a way
to make it to the finals of their
Regional, ending the season of the
Owls in the process.
This year’s Aggies, on paper, are
much better. They have Nick Banks,
who will be drafted very early in the
MLB draft the second he is eligible.
They have a 6-feet-5 workhorse
pitcher, the aptly named Grayson
Long. They had sophomore south
paw standout Tyler Stubblefied, but
he will miss most of, if not all of the
season with an ACL tear.
It’s been four years since future-
first-round-picks Michael Wacha and
Tyler Naquin led the Aggies to the
College World Series in 2011. That
team tore through the Big 12 in its
final season in the conference.
The 2014-15 roster has even more
talent. It has a chance to be special.
Sure, the roster is unproven, but it
is far from lacking. The Aggies have
a potential breakout player starting at
every position, especially the corner
infielders. Logan Nottebrok and
Ronnie Gideon are home run threats
every time they step in the box. In a
game void of true power potential,
these two Aggies bring the thunder.
What this team lacks in veteran
collegiate pitching experience, it
makes up for in untapped youthful
potential. Head coach Rob Chil
dress, one of the better pitching
coaches in the country, has an arsenal
full of lively arms just waiting to be
reigned in.
There are three seniors who
played on that 2011 CWS team —
Blake Allemand, Jason Freeman and
Mitchell Nau. I hope they remember
what Omaha looked like, because
they just may be going back.
Tyler Stafford is an interdisiplinary
studies senior and sports reporter for The
Battahon.
This series marks the first true road trip for the
Aggies, who will have played 19 of their first 22
games within the friendly confines of Blue Bell Park.
Additionally, it will be the second conference series
on the season. The Crimson Tide are led by middle
infielder Mikey White, a third team Preseason All
American, who scored 50 runs on 71 hits, batted
.300 and blasted seven home runs in 2014.
VS. NO. 15 RICE
APRIL/
The Aggies meet their old Southwest Conference
foe only once in this midweek slot that’s sandwiched
between two conference series for the Aggies. The
Owls finished 42-20 last season and finished ranked No.
24. However, they bring back second-team Preseason
All American starting pitcher Blake Fox, who was an
undefeated 12-0 record with a 1.46 ERA a year ago.
AT NO. 4 LSU
APRIL 23-25
Texas A&M begins the home stretch of confer
ence play in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where an LSU
team that was knocked out of postseason play early
in Regionals a year ago awaits. Alex Bregman, LSU
shortstop and 2015 first team Preseason All Ameri
can, and Andrew Stevenson, outfielder and third
team Preseason All-American, lead the Tigers.
VS NO. 11 S CAROLINA
MAY 8-11
The Aggies wrap up play at Blue Bell Park with
another ranked SEC opponent. The Gamecocks, like
the Tigers, were also eliminated in Regionals last
year, finishing 44-18 and ranked No. 23. The series
serves as one of the final opportunities for the Aggies
to jostle for conference position prior to the SEC
tournament in Hoover, Alabama, in mid May.
By Cole Stenholm