DENNIS SILVA II | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — When her son was making a decision about where to play college baseball — UTRGV, Baylor, Houston, Corpus Christi, among others — Cindy Lopez reminded Noel Vela often of the following:
“No matter where you play,” she advised, “they will find you, whether it’s five miles away or 5,000 miles away.”
“They” is in reference to Major League Baseball scouts. The 6-foot-1, 160-pound Vela has that kind of talent if he stays on the right path. Where he will hone that talent will be UTRGV.
The Mission Veterans Memorial senior left-hander signed his letter of intent Wednesday morning to play for the Vaqueros. He verbally committed after his sophomore year and never strayed from that decision.
“My visit was great,” Vela said of the initial meeting that took place after his sophomore season. “The players were real humble and welcoming. As soon as I stepped into the fieldhouse, they all greeted me without even knowing who I was. They had already made me feel a part of the team. I just knew I would fit in.”
Vela picked UTRGV over Baylor so that he could play close to home. During Wednesday’s news conference to announce his signing, Vela’s grandparents, parents, siblings, teammates, friends and girlfriend were all in attendance for his big day.
“It was a big factor knowing they can all come and watch me play,” said Vela, who gives every home run ball he hits to his grandfather. “That support is big. It would have been hard to have them all stay here at home while I go off somewhere else.”
Vela was The Monitor’s 2016 All-Area Player of the Year. As a junior last season, he hit .538 with 43 RBIs, six home runs and 44 runs scored. On the mound, he went 5-3 with a 0.89 ERA and 93 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched.
When Vela attended a Patriots camp during his sixth grade year, Mission Vets coach Casey Smith remembered being impressed right away.
“I remember looking at him and thinking that this kid is going to be pretty good,” Smith said. “We knew he was talented his freshman year when he ended up being our No. 1 (pitcher) at the end of the year. By the second half of his sophomore season, you knew he was going to be a next-level guy.”
Vela liked that UTRGV is looking at him to hit and pitch. Over 97 games as a Patriot, Vela has hit .430 with 107 RBIs and eight home runs. He has a career 1.46 ERA with 291 strikeouts to 106 walks in 178 innings.
“Hitting and pitching are important to him,” Smith said. “A lot of schools want you for one or the other. Noel is extremely talented at the plate and on the mound. To be quite honest, I don’t know where the ceiling is on either one. I just know it’s high.”
Vela said he plans to study kinesiology and sports management in college. On the field this season, he expects to improve at getting ahead of counts and throwing fewer pitches.
He will be free to focus strictly on playing baseball instead of where his next chapter lies.
“It’s great knowing I can get this off my shoulders and get it out of the way,” Vela said. “It’s exciting. This day got here fast. I never thought it would get here, and soon enough, it’s here.”
Other local signings that marked National Signing Day:
>> Mercedes senior catcher Oliver Closner signed his letter of intent to play baseball at UTRGV. The 5-foot-10, 195-pounder hit .500 with 24 RBIs and three home runs last season. He had a .608 on-base percentage and .935 slugging percentage and only committed three errors in 117 total chances.
>> La Joya Palmview senior pitcher/infielder Leo Perez signed his letter of intent to play at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The 6-foot-1 Perez hit .489 with 10 homers and 33 RBIs last year, posting a .541 on-base percentage. He also went 9-3 as a pitcher with a 1.78 ERA and 123 strikeouts to 21 walks in 86.2 innings.
>> Edinburg North senior pitcher Giancarlo Servin signed his letter of intent to play baseball at Texas A&M-Kingsville. Servin hit .552 with 27 RBIs and two home runs last year. On the mound, he went 9-1 with a 0.67 ERA and 107 strikeouts to 26 walks in 62.2 innings.