Mikey Hoehner finds a home behind the plate for Aggie Baseball
The catcher position looked like it might be a question mark heading into the offseason after Cole Bedford announced he was skipping his senior season and retiring from baseball, but the Aggies quickly found his replacement four hours northwest in Cisco, Texas.
Through two weeks of the regular season, junior Mikey Hoehner has not only erased the question mark but made catcher a position of strength for Texas A&M. He has been one of the Aggies’ most consistent hitters and has been rock solid behind the plate.
“It’s a true blessing that he’s as talented as he is,” says A&M head coach Rob Childress. “He’s a great worker, great leader, great kid, and to be able to get that guy last June was definitely a blessing.”
Hoehner grew up a Texas A&M sports fan because of several Aggies sprinkled throughout his family, but the first Aggie baseball game he attended was the season opener against Fordham, when he caught a nearly perfect game behind the plate, threw out a would-be base stealer and scored a run in a 4-0 victory over the Rams.
“It’s been awesome,” says Hoehner, who played two seasons at Cisco Junior College. “Putting on this jersey is an honor every time you do it.”
Hoehner has known his opening day battery mate, John Doxakis, since the two were high schoolers in Houston – Doxakis at Lamar and Hoehner at Langham Creek. They met playing for an all-star team as sophomores and then played summer ball together as juniors with the Colombia Angels.
“He called me to come play on that Colombia Angels team, and we kind of kept up with each other ever since,” Hoehner says. “When I got the opportunity here, I was ready to catch him because we had a little chemistry already.”
Doxakis relishes throwing to a catcher of Hoehner’s caliber because of all the attributes he brings to the table.
“It’s not just his blocking that makes him great. He’s a great team guy, too, which I think all piles up together,” said Doxakis, who has not allowed an earned run in either of his two starts. “You know he’s going to bring the same attitude every day and play at the same level. He’s just a consistent player. I grew up playing with him and honestly, I was surprised he didn’t end up at another D-I out of high school, so we’re just lucky to have him. He’s a great guy and we’re so happy he’s here.”
Hoehner has quickly gotten acquainted with the A&M pitching staff, which features several explosive arms and a mixture of righties and lefties. He gets beaten up behind the plate sometimes with a bevy of sharp breaking balls and offspeed pitches that generally end up in the dirt, but he says that’s just part of the job.
“I feel good with the staff. We have a lot of lefties. At Cisco we had a couple but none of this caliber,” Hoehner says. “It’s been a little different, but they make my job really easy with the amount of strikes they throw and how many pitches they can place in certain spots. There are a lot of great breaking balls and a lot of hard sliders to catch, but when I call it in the dirt, they throw it in the dirt, and it’s my job to keep it in front. It’s not too big of a deal at all.
“I think we have a great staff. With the amount of lefties we have and hard righties, it’s an impressive staff and one that gives us a chance to win every time we go out.”
In addition to his excellent defense, Hoehner has been steady at the plate for an Aggie offense that has struggled a bit in the first two weeks of the season. His .258 batting average ranks third on the team, and his six walks trail only Zach DeLoach for the team lead.
Hoehner previously displayed plenty of offensive talent at Cisco, where he hit .360 as a freshman and then .438 as a sophomore with six home runs and 58 RBI.
“He’s been exactly what we expected,” says hitting coach Will Bolt. “He’s a line-drive hitter. If given the chance to drive in runs, he’ll do it. If given the chance to execute something, he’ll do it. He can spring a spark, and we’re going to continue trying to find the best place for him in the lineup.”
Any potential friction between Hoehner and incumbent catcher Hunter Coleman was immediately extinguished when Coleman got to know the Cisco transfer. Even as they battled for the starting catching job in the fall, they grew to be close friends.
The same traits that drew Coleman to Hoehner are what make the new Aggie such a positive influence in the locker room.
“He’s one of my favorite guys I’ve ever played with,” Coleman says. “I played with him a couple of times in high school at a couple of events, and he’s just really energetic and fun to be around. He kind of lightens the mood sometimes, and I really like being in the locker room with him.”
Hoehner will look to provide a spark for the Aggies as they head to his hometown this weekend for the Shriners College Classic. Trying to get back into the win column after a 6-5 loss to Incarnate Word, A&M will square off against Baylor, TCU and Houston at Minute Maid Park.