Photo by Kirby Clarke, TexAgs
Texas A&M Baseball
Then I got the phone call in the fifth round and they told me that I was going to be a Milwaukee Brewer. We were all so excited and I was still a little delusional at that point because I was so tired still, but we were all really pumped. My parents started crying and it was a great whirlwind to have them here. Then it was also my sister's birthday so it was great to share that with her. It was an unreal experience and really hasn't hit me yet but I'm just so blessed to have this opportunity."
"The Brewers asked me how fast I could get up to Montana to start playing and I said whenever you guys need me. So I have a flight out of Dallas around 12:40 tomorrow to head to Helena, Montana to start playing rookie ball. I've never been to Montana before so it'll be something different."
"This dream started as soon as I picked up a baseball when I was four or five years old watching it on TV or playing T-ball. It's something I've always wanted to do and always kept my mind on and that's the ultimate dream. I want to play a game for the rest of my life and for a living, and I got the opportunity now so it's my job to make the best of it."
"This has just been an unreal experience. It's something I have always dreamed of but just never pictured it happening until it actually happens. I always wanted to be here, my parents went here and I was one of the brainwashed Aggie kids from the get-go. I always came to games here with my parents and it's always been where I wanted to go. I came to camps here with Coach Childress to force the issue and I was lucky enough to get a spot and an opportunity to be on the team and try to make the best of it. I wanted to be out here and represent this school and be a part of it my whole life. I'm honored, and looking back on it, it's kind of like a storybook ending that I was able to play here. I never thought it was possible but I made it happen and it's really awesome."
"It's unbelievable to think that my time has come and gone. I feel like I just got here yesterday as a freshman, scared to death and not knowing what's going on. Just wide eyed and now I'm already wrapping up my career here. It's unbelievable how fast it went by. I tried to tell the freshman that come in to just enjoy it and you don't realize how fast it goes until it's over."
"I was what they called a preferred walk-on. I had a roster spot so I knew I was going to be on the team but I didn't have a scholarship at that point. I was okay with that and just went with the opportunity. That has been my motto my whole life, nothing has really come easy to me. So I was given the opportunity and I told Coach Childress I'd make the best of it after that, so I was blessed to have that opportunity and fortunate to be able to work with it."
"Getting better is just part of being in college. You've got to find out who you are and find out about yourself and it's just the maturation process and growing up as a person. Coming here as a freshman kid, I was consumed about if I was going to play, what my batting average was going to be, why I wasn't getting any hits ... Coach Childress will probably tell you that I had one of the worst fall seasons on record. I maybe hit like .050, it was unbelievable. I was overwhelmed and scared to death, wide eyed and I just thought everything was going way too fast. I got that break Christmas break and slowed everything down and said 'you know what this is a game I've been playing my whole life, it's still just baseball. I don't need to make it a bigger deal than it already is.'
I was able to slow the game down enough to play to my potential and get on the field as a freshman. From there, I just kept grinding. I've been through plenty of slumps but that part of the game of baseball. It's about failure and I feel like that's something that has made me a better player because I've experienced that and learned how to handle it. The biggest step for me this year in my process was just putting the team first, being a leader and not being consumed with stats at all. This team wasn't, and I wasn't so I just wanted to be a leader and do whatever I could to help this team win and do whatever I had to do have that positive influence on them. As a result, the stats and the results took care of themselves and I was really blessed. This was the most fun I've had with any team in my life and I will love this team and will always remember these guys."
"This team just got it. We cared about each other no matter what. There was no bitterness about someone not playing, they always just got it. They always supported each other and always had each others backs. I think that helped with Coach Childress stemming down from Mitch (Nau) and Logan Nottebrok and the guys like that. We just kind of employed the idea that you needed to show up everyday and get ready to work and give it your best and let the results take care of themselves.
I think in the past we've been a little too consumed with 'we need to win here, we need to lose here' and this year we knew we just had to go out and play well. If we play well, we are probably going to win. So that was our process and we tried to employ that with the entire team. This team had each others backs and kept fighting and we just wanted to be relentless. It all started in the fall. We made that covenant of what we wanted to do and being relentless was one of the top ones. Our mindset was that we wanted to play hard until the last out and have fun doing it."
"Becoming the lead-off hitter and the everyday shortstop goes back to me just wanting to be a leader. The shortstop is the captain of the infield and looking back on it, maybe I left some stuff get away. We didn't have a good defensive year, and I didn't have the defensive year I wanted to have. So looking back on that, I could have done better. But just the fact of being there, I wanted to constantly be a guy keeping everything level and being the captain there and holding it all down. I've been a leadoff hitter most of my entire life so it was nothing really new to me. Every game I just wanted to set the tone, have a good at bat and just get things kicked off right. My job was to get on base for guys like Mitch and Logan to knock me in and I was able to do that enough. My mindset this year was just to be the guy that set the tone, and I feel like I did a good enough job with that to help this team and the guys behind me were excellent to pick me up with that."
"Coach (Will) Bolt is awesome. We love that guy and being here for a short time he has already made an impact on my baseball career. Just more of his mentality was great. He was really big on the approach of just taking it one game at a time, not worrying about results just talking about approach and having good at bats. Just pass your bat off to the next guy and trusting the guy behind you to do a job and you will be fine. It was a calming influence on myself personally. He was there, he knew and he told me he believed in me and had been watching me and the talent I had. He was there for me and is very supportive. His mentality was great around the bases. He never really got too high or too low. He was always confident. He always told us we were going to the National Championship this year, it didn't happen but he believes in us more than anyone and he's confident. I have faith in him moving forward that he will really take this program to the next level."
"There is a left handed pitcher from Tennessee named Drake Owenby who got drafted by the Brewers as well. I played with him two summers ago in California for summer ball so he reached out to me. We might be going to the same place, so that's the only guy as of right now that I really know but other than that I'm just going out there scared and not really sure what's going to happen in Montana by myself. So we will see what happens, I guess."
"The Brewers didn't talk too much to me about where I'll play yet, but they drafted me to shortstop, that was what was next to my name. I'm assuming I will probably play somewhere in the infield but for me personally I really don't care at this point. I will play outfield, I'll catch if I have to. I just want to do whatever I can to make this dream a reality."
"At this point in my career I'm just going to do whatever they want. Whatever they want me to do. If they want me to quit switch hitting I will, if they want me to keep switch hitting I will. I'm just going to try to get better and learn everyday and do whatever I can to take the next step and move up in the organization."
“The whole senior year was just a fun thing to be a part of. The 24-game win streak to start the year and just the ride was fantastic. The win against Carson Fulmer in the SEC tournament was great. The whole regional was unbelievable. I probably lost 10 years of my life in that regional, so that was fun. Those were some of the best days of baseball I can remember, just so exciting and showed the character of this team. The whole year was so much fun to be a part of and I’m going to miss being part of the guys and the team. Great year.”
“It was cool to be on SportsCenter after the LSU game, but at the same time, we lost the game and I was more worried about the wins and losses this year. We got back to the hotel and were still pretty upset because we felt like we let those games get away. So it was a cool moment, but it wasn't noteworthy, because I’ll remember being with the guys and in the locker room more than being on SportsCenter.”
“Hitting the two homers off Carson Fulmer was surreal. The first at bat he got me. Buzzed me about 98 up around my chest and I thought, ‘Okay. This guy’s is throwing pretty hard.’ I locked in there and just tried to get me a fastball. I hit the first one and was pretty pumped by it because i was ready for it, but i hit the second one and I saw it leaving the yard and went, ‘Oh my goodness. Is this really happening?’ I couldn't believe it. That is a great memory and I’m sure that when he is pitching in the majors I can say to my kids, ‘You’re dad used to hit two homers off that guy.’ They’ll never believe me.”
“The regional crowd on Monday night was the most electric I have ever seen Olsen and I have had people tell me that was the most fun they have ever had at a baseball game. That is awesome that we were able to be a part of that. I know my main goal at A&M was to leave a legacy and leave here having made a difference. Whether that be on the field or in someone’s life, I wanted to make a difference. Our whole senior motto was to leave the program better than we found it and I feel like we did that.”
“I think this year was a good first step and Coach Childress and Coach Bolt talked about it, that we may not be here for the results next year, because he expects to win a national championship next year and this was the first step in that. So as seniors, we probably won't be able to enjoy the results of that, but we feel like we are important in that and they will continue to carry past that. The Super Regional was the farthest I had been in my career and it was not fun, it was heartbreaking, but at the same time it was great experience for the young guys to know how close they were and what it takes.”
“Michael Barash is next year's leader to me. He is special and is one of the best teammates and guys I have ever been around. He is a great dude and is always bringing positive energy no matter what is going on. He is so focused on what others are doing rather than himself and he will be a great leader.”
“Boomer White had a great fall. It seemed like every time I looked up in the fall he was getting a hit. He can just hit, I’m sure he will come in and fill in the middle of the order and be a producer. He is pretty even keel and relaxed, so I’m sure he will fit right in.”
“I’ve known Johnny Manziel since I was a sophomore in high school and played against him at a rival high school. The dude is an unbelievable athlete and I have been a fan of him for a long time. He was one of the best high school players I have ever seen and they beat the snot out of us because of him. I remember our freshman year here and a lot of the guys were talking, ‘Who is going to start Jameill (Showers) or Johnny?’ I said to watch out for that Johnny kid and they all said, ‘Oh, no. He is too small.’ He had that season he had and I remember calling my dad after the Florida game and saying, ‘I don’t know when it is going to happen, but Johnny is going to win the Heisman while he is here.’ The fact that he is taking care of his off the field problems and has his life in order, I am pretty excited for him. He has all the athletic ability in the world and I am pulling for him.”
“Senior year, we were both 8-0 and it was the San Antonio game of the week and our stadium was packed. We were excited and thought we had a chance to beat them. So, first play of the game Tivy motions Johnny out to receiver and I am covering him in one-on-one coverage. They throw a jump ball to him and it was under thrown by some running back, so we jump up and he is probably four feet higher than me, but on the way down I somehow raked it out and was pumped. I thought we had a shot, then two plays later he took a quarterback draw up the gut for 70 yards and the rest was history.”
“Winning the regional and walking off the field at A&M and celebrating with my teammates was unreal. In my career, that is my first time being able to turn my hat around because we hadn't won a championship. I’m not an emotional guy, but I was going nuts and that is something I will always remember that my last time at Olsen was celebrating with my teammates. I don’t think you can end better than that.”
Blake Allemand reflects on his time at A&M, being drafted, '15 season
Key quotes from Blake Allemand interview
"The last few days have been mentally draining for sure. We had those extra inning games, Omaha got ripped out from under us and I feel like my heart got ripped out as my A&M baseball career ended. I had to get on the bus, drive home and not get home till five in the morning. I got a call from the Brewers scout at 10 the next morning, so I only got about five hours of sleep. We started talking about things, and my parents actually made the trip from Dallas so they could be here with me so they were running on no sleep also.Then I got the phone call in the fifth round and they told me that I was going to be a Milwaukee Brewer. We were all so excited and I was still a little delusional at that point because I was so tired still, but we were all really pumped. My parents started crying and it was a great whirlwind to have them here. Then it was also my sister's birthday so it was great to share that with her. It was an unreal experience and really hasn't hit me yet but I'm just so blessed to have this opportunity."
"The Brewers asked me how fast I could get up to Montana to start playing and I said whenever you guys need me. So I have a flight out of Dallas around 12:40 tomorrow to head to Helena, Montana to start playing rookie ball. I've never been to Montana before so it'll be something different."
"This dream started as soon as I picked up a baseball when I was four or five years old watching it on TV or playing T-ball. It's something I've always wanted to do and always kept my mind on and that's the ultimate dream. I want to play a game for the rest of my life and for a living, and I got the opportunity now so it's my job to make the best of it."
"This has just been an unreal experience. It's something I have always dreamed of but just never pictured it happening until it actually happens. I always wanted to be here, my parents went here and I was one of the brainwashed Aggie kids from the get-go. I always came to games here with my parents and it's always been where I wanted to go. I came to camps here with Coach Childress to force the issue and I was lucky enough to get a spot and an opportunity to be on the team and try to make the best of it. I wanted to be out here and represent this school and be a part of it my whole life. I'm honored, and looking back on it, it's kind of like a storybook ending that I was able to play here. I never thought it was possible but I made it happen and it's really awesome."
"It's unbelievable to think that my time has come and gone. I feel like I just got here yesterday as a freshman, scared to death and not knowing what's going on. Just wide eyed and now I'm already wrapping up my career here. It's unbelievable how fast it went by. I tried to tell the freshman that come in to just enjoy it and you don't realize how fast it goes until it's over."
"I was what they called a preferred walk-on. I had a roster spot so I knew I was going to be on the team but I didn't have a scholarship at that point. I was okay with that and just went with the opportunity. That has been my motto my whole life, nothing has really come easy to me. So I was given the opportunity and I told Coach Childress I'd make the best of it after that, so I was blessed to have that opportunity and fortunate to be able to work with it."
"Getting better is just part of being in college. You've got to find out who you are and find out about yourself and it's just the maturation process and growing up as a person. Coming here as a freshman kid, I was consumed about if I was going to play, what my batting average was going to be, why I wasn't getting any hits ... Coach Childress will probably tell you that I had one of the worst fall seasons on record. I maybe hit like .050, it was unbelievable. I was overwhelmed and scared to death, wide eyed and I just thought everything was going way too fast. I got that break Christmas break and slowed everything down and said 'you know what this is a game I've been playing my whole life, it's still just baseball. I don't need to make it a bigger deal than it already is.'
I was able to slow the game down enough to play to my potential and get on the field as a freshman. From there, I just kept grinding. I've been through plenty of slumps but that part of the game of baseball. It's about failure and I feel like that's something that has made me a better player because I've experienced that and learned how to handle it. The biggest step for me this year in my process was just putting the team first, being a leader and not being consumed with stats at all. This team wasn't, and I wasn't so I just wanted to be a leader and do whatever I could to help this team win and do whatever I had to do have that positive influence on them. As a result, the stats and the results took care of themselves and I was really blessed. This was the most fun I've had with any team in my life and I will love this team and will always remember these guys."
"This team just got it. We cared about each other no matter what. There was no bitterness about someone not playing, they always just got it. They always supported each other and always had each others backs. I think that helped with Coach Childress stemming down from Mitch (Nau) and Logan Nottebrok and the guys like that. We just kind of employed the idea that you needed to show up everyday and get ready to work and give it your best and let the results take care of themselves.
I think in the past we've been a little too consumed with 'we need to win here, we need to lose here' and this year we knew we just had to go out and play well. If we play well, we are probably going to win. So that was our process and we tried to employ that with the entire team. This team had each others backs and kept fighting and we just wanted to be relentless. It all started in the fall. We made that covenant of what we wanted to do and being relentless was one of the top ones. Our mindset was that we wanted to play hard until the last out and have fun doing it."
"Becoming the lead-off hitter and the everyday shortstop goes back to me just wanting to be a leader. The shortstop is the captain of the infield and looking back on it, maybe I left some stuff get away. We didn't have a good defensive year, and I didn't have the defensive year I wanted to have. So looking back on that, I could have done better. But just the fact of being there, I wanted to constantly be a guy keeping everything level and being the captain there and holding it all down. I've been a leadoff hitter most of my entire life so it was nothing really new to me. Every game I just wanted to set the tone, have a good at bat and just get things kicked off right. My job was to get on base for guys like Mitch and Logan to knock me in and I was able to do that enough. My mindset this year was just to be the guy that set the tone, and I feel like I did a good enough job with that to help this team and the guys behind me were excellent to pick me up with that."
"Coach (Will) Bolt is awesome. We love that guy and being here for a short time he has already made an impact on my baseball career. Just more of his mentality was great. He was really big on the approach of just taking it one game at a time, not worrying about results just talking about approach and having good at bats. Just pass your bat off to the next guy and trusting the guy behind you to do a job and you will be fine. It was a calming influence on myself personally. He was there, he knew and he told me he believed in me and had been watching me and the talent I had. He was there for me and is very supportive. His mentality was great around the bases. He never really got too high or too low. He was always confident. He always told us we were going to the National Championship this year, it didn't happen but he believes in us more than anyone and he's confident. I have faith in him moving forward that he will really take this program to the next level."
"There is a left handed pitcher from Tennessee named Drake Owenby who got drafted by the Brewers as well. I played with him two summers ago in California for summer ball so he reached out to me. We might be going to the same place, so that's the only guy as of right now that I really know but other than that I'm just going out there scared and not really sure what's going to happen in Montana by myself. So we will see what happens, I guess."
"The Brewers didn't talk too much to me about where I'll play yet, but they drafted me to shortstop, that was what was next to my name. I'm assuming I will probably play somewhere in the infield but for me personally I really don't care at this point. I will play outfield, I'll catch if I have to. I just want to do whatever I can to make this dream a reality."
"At this point in my career I'm just going to do whatever they want. Whatever they want me to do. If they want me to quit switch hitting I will, if they want me to keep switch hitting I will. I'm just going to try to get better and learn everyday and do whatever I can to take the next step and move up in the organization."
“The whole senior year was just a fun thing to be a part of. The 24-game win streak to start the year and just the ride was fantastic. The win against Carson Fulmer in the SEC tournament was great. The whole regional was unbelievable. I probably lost 10 years of my life in that regional, so that was fun. Those were some of the best days of baseball I can remember, just so exciting and showed the character of this team. The whole year was so much fun to be a part of and I’m going to miss being part of the guys and the team. Great year.”
“It was cool to be on SportsCenter after the LSU game, but at the same time, we lost the game and I was more worried about the wins and losses this year. We got back to the hotel and were still pretty upset because we felt like we let those games get away. So it was a cool moment, but it wasn't noteworthy, because I’ll remember being with the guys and in the locker room more than being on SportsCenter.”
“Hitting the two homers off Carson Fulmer was surreal. The first at bat he got me. Buzzed me about 98 up around my chest and I thought, ‘Okay. This guy’s is throwing pretty hard.’ I locked in there and just tried to get me a fastball. I hit the first one and was pretty pumped by it because i was ready for it, but i hit the second one and I saw it leaving the yard and went, ‘Oh my goodness. Is this really happening?’ I couldn't believe it. That is a great memory and I’m sure that when he is pitching in the majors I can say to my kids, ‘You’re dad used to hit two homers off that guy.’ They’ll never believe me.”
“The regional crowd on Monday night was the most electric I have ever seen Olsen and I have had people tell me that was the most fun they have ever had at a baseball game. That is awesome that we were able to be a part of that. I know my main goal at A&M was to leave a legacy and leave here having made a difference. Whether that be on the field or in someone’s life, I wanted to make a difference. Our whole senior motto was to leave the program better than we found it and I feel like we did that.”
“I think this year was a good first step and Coach Childress and Coach Bolt talked about it, that we may not be here for the results next year, because he expects to win a national championship next year and this was the first step in that. So as seniors, we probably won't be able to enjoy the results of that, but we feel like we are important in that and they will continue to carry past that. The Super Regional was the farthest I had been in my career and it was not fun, it was heartbreaking, but at the same time it was great experience for the young guys to know how close they were and what it takes.”
“Michael Barash is next year's leader to me. He is special and is one of the best teammates and guys I have ever been around. He is a great dude and is always bringing positive energy no matter what is going on. He is so focused on what others are doing rather than himself and he will be a great leader.”
“Boomer White had a great fall. It seemed like every time I looked up in the fall he was getting a hit. He can just hit, I’m sure he will come in and fill in the middle of the order and be a producer. He is pretty even keel and relaxed, so I’m sure he will fit right in.”
“I’ve known Johnny Manziel since I was a sophomore in high school and played against him at a rival high school. The dude is an unbelievable athlete and I have been a fan of him for a long time. He was one of the best high school players I have ever seen and they beat the snot out of us because of him. I remember our freshman year here and a lot of the guys were talking, ‘Who is going to start Jameill (Showers) or Johnny?’ I said to watch out for that Johnny kid and they all said, ‘Oh, no. He is too small.’ He had that season he had and I remember calling my dad after the Florida game and saying, ‘I don’t know when it is going to happen, but Johnny is going to win the Heisman while he is here.’ The fact that he is taking care of his off the field problems and has his life in order, I am pretty excited for him. He has all the athletic ability in the world and I am pulling for him.”
“Senior year, we were both 8-0 and it was the San Antonio game of the week and our stadium was packed. We were excited and thought we had a chance to beat them. So, first play of the game Tivy motions Johnny out to receiver and I am covering him in one-on-one coverage. They throw a jump ball to him and it was under thrown by some running back, so we jump up and he is probably four feet higher than me, but on the way down I somehow raked it out and was pumped. I thought we had a shot, then two plays later he took a quarterback draw up the gut for 70 yards and the rest was history.”
“Winning the regional and walking off the field at A&M and celebrating with my teammates was unreal. In my career, that is my first time being able to turn my hat around because we hadn't won a championship. I’m not an emotional guy, but I was going nuts and that is something I will always remember that my last time at Olsen was celebrating with my teammates. I don’t think you can end better than that.”
Never miss the latest news from TexAgs!
Join our free email list
