DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
For his first day of high school Monday, Aaron Nixon knew what shirt he was going to wear.
It was a burnt orange University of Texas polo with gray sleeves. The incoming freshman wanted to proudly represent the school he had verbally committed to play baseball for less than 24 hours before.
“I’ve always wanted to play for UT since I was real young,” said Nixon, who was formally offered a scholarship Sunday afternoon while sitting in head coach David Pierce’s office. “It’s the University of Texas. It’s got the tradition. What else can you say? I got the shirt yesterday at a store at UT, where they sell everything UT. I’m just real proud. This has been a dream for me.”
Nixon played for the Houston Banditos summer team last month in Georgia at The Perfect Games tournament, a national event that attracts hundreds of college and Major League Baseball scouts. It was there that Nixon, a right-hander who pitched and played infield during 11 games, caught the eye of the Longhorns. The Banditos won the 300-team tournament, which included teams with players in the Classes of 2018 and 2019, and Nixon starred.
When they met Sunday, Texas coaches said Nixon had the talent to play college baseball now, and a big reason is his velocity.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound 15-year-old was hitting 89.3 miles per hour on the radar gun. The Longhorns coaches told the Nixons they see Aaron playing shortstop and pitching for them.
Following the tournament, a national talent scout reported the following on Nixon on July 30: “Though listed as a primary shortstop, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound Nixon came out showing even better velocity than he did last weekend as he opened up and sat in the 87-89 mph range for his couple innings of work. Consistently on top of the ball and generating steady plane, Nixon was able to simply overpowering hitters with the fastball and worked pretty much exclusively off of that. His mechanics are relatively simple and there’s no doubting his arm speed nor arm strength as the velocity is far from usual for a rising freshman, as is his ability to locate his heater to either side of the plate with hard running life. He’s already a well-known name amongst collegiate coaches and he did nothing but reaffirm his talents last night.”
“The sense I got from Texas,” Nixon’s dad, Beau, said, “is that Aaron is throwing 89 now, where’s he going to be in four years?”
Nixon has played baseball since he was 3 years old. He grew attached to UT because his older cousin, who now attends the school, liked it, too.
When he was 4 years old, Nixon would walk around the house with a UT cap, swinging a bat. Five years later, when his traveling team went to visit UT, he met former UT coach Augie Garrido and got his autograph.
Nixon grew up watching Mission native and former Sharyland High star Tres Barrera play for the Longhorns. He read Garrido’s book.
“It was surreal sitting in the office with Coach Pierce and his staff at the stadium,” Beau said. “It’s humbling. I tell Aaron to not let it get to his head, keep working hard. He listens. He’s a humble, hard-working kid who just loves baseball and the Longhorns.”
Nixon’s biggest strengths are his power —Beau has cautiously monitored how much his son throws, while Nixon has improved his arm strength with exercise bands and worked on conditioning his lower body for a firm base —and support system. Beau and his wife Diane are McAllen High alumni. Both played sports for the Bulldogs; Beau competed in football and Diane in softball.
Beau went to law school at Texas Tech and Diane went to California State.
“Aaron is the most humble young man you’ll meet,” said Joey Jara, a teammate of Beau’s at McHI who is based out of Lufkin and trains young athletes, especially pitchers, all around the country. “That comes from great parenting. They’re unbelievable. You see a lot of kids across the country who fall off the map because they’re pushed too hard by mom and dad. But that’s not the case with Aaron. Aaron wants this himself, and they’re going to provide him with all he can to achieve what he wants.”
Jara, who has trained Nixon since he was 7 and still does whenever he returns to the Valley, talks about Nixon waking up before school to do P90X workouts. Nixon does speed and agility training at the Cavazos Sports Institute and works on hitting with former Sharyland High star Osiel Flores.
“Aaron has dominated every level he’s competed at, “ Jara said. “I train kids all around the country. It’s what I do for a living. So I know it when I say there’s nobody that works harder than this young man. He has a plan, he has a goal, and he’s going to get it. In his mind, there’s nothing he can’t do. He’s a perfectionist in his approach.”
Nixon plays football and will play baseball and run track and field at McAllen High. Beau doesn’t reveal his son’s official offers so not to flaunt them, but schools that have shown interest include Arkansas, Louisville, Miami, Arizona, Oklahoma State and Houston.
“When you commit to a school like Texas, the expectations are huge,” Beau said. “I understand that. He’s been blessed with a gift, but there’s going to be some pressure. He needs to earn his stripes and play baseball. He’s just a calm, humble kid off the field. On it, he’s tough. He’s confident. He knows he can compete.”