By ANDREW CRUM | THE BROWNSVILLE HERALD
Lopez senior Alex Olguin always wanted to play baseball at the next level.
Next year, he’ll get that chance.
Just a few months before his senior season begins, Olguin made his college aspirations a reality when he signed his national letter of intent to play baseball for Texas Southern University, the NCAA Division I school in Houston, during a signing ceremony Tuesday at Lopez High School.
“It’s kind of overwhelming, this is all new to me,” he said. “But it feels really good. I remember (setting a goal) my freshman year about putting in the all that work … nothing has changed in the past four years, I’m working hard and setting an example.”
Olguin is a standout shortstop and pitcher for the Lobos who hit .368 in District 32-5A games in 2016 with 14 hits (including a double, three triples and two home runs), 19 runs, 15 RBIs and 19 walks. He also struck out just four times with 14 stolen bases during 14 32-5A games last season. He was also 3-2 with a 2.79 earned run average. In eight appearances (seven starts), he had two complete games, a save, allowed 18 earned runs on 31 hits, walked 11 and struck out 48 in 45.1 innings while opponents hit just .235 against him.
“It’s nice to see their son be successful educationally and on the field,” Lopez coach Victor Martinez said of Olguin’s parents, who both attended and graduated from Lopez with Martinez. “It’s been a great experience (coaching Alex). It’s a reflection on our program, it means its going in the right direction. It’s a good example for the younger kids for them to set goals and they too could play at the next level.
“It’s very exciting to see him sign and to play at the next level.”
Outside of the baseball season, Olguin plays in different leagues to continue to improve. During one such tournament in Houston, Texas Southern coach Michael Robertson saw him play and was very interested. According to Olguin, he received six or seven offers from other coaches and schools, but it was the Tigers coach that kept in touch and showed the most interest.
“He fell in love with the kid,” Martinez said of Robertson. “It’s not hard to fall in love with a kid that talented, he was interested and kept in touch with the family. He wanted to make sure he got Alex signed before he had other choices.”
After Robertson kept asking for him to make a visit, Olguin went and felt at home.
“I just fell in love with it,” Olguin said. “My family is in Houston, so I liked that. It’s a small campus, it’s a good atmosphere … I’m just excited for the opportunity. They’re a good team, coached really well, and they were (Southwest Athletic) conference champions last year.”
Olguin was recruited as a shortstop, but with a good arm on the mound, that also could have been a big part of Robertson’s pursuit. Olguin has earned several honors in his first three years, including The Brownsville Herald’s Newcomer of the Year after his freshman season, a part of The Herald’s All-Metro team in each of his first three seasons and Olguin has earned district awards as well.
“He’s a five-tool player,” Martinez added. “He’s an overall great player.”
Olguin plans to study kinesiology with the goal of becoming an athletic trainer.
Martinez has no doubts that Olguin will make an impact at the next level.
“He’s going to be successful because he has a great IQ on the game,” Martinez said. “It’s like having a coach on the field every time we play, so that’s a plus for us. He’s very committed, humble, dedicated to his goals. He’ll put in the work and at the next level. It’s also about the grades and he’s always had top grades in our school and I know he’ll be able to manage his time … I’m sure he’ll be successful.”
Andrew Crum covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6629 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @andrewmcrum.