Austin, TX
Austin-area products help spur Texas A&M baseball in College World Series
Texas A&M’s success in the College World Series has been the ultimate nod to Austin-area high school baseball.
Whether it’s been for most of the season in the case of Travis Chestnut (Pflugerville), becoming a postseason hero like Kaeden Kent (Lake Travis) or simply closing out a win as Josh Stewart (Savio) did Monday against Kentucky, locals have played a big part in the Aggies’ chase for a national title.
Here’s a look at the Austin-area players spurring the Aggies:
A constant grind has propelled Pflugerville’s Chestnut
Chestnut, who starred for Pflugerville from 2017-2020, has been a starter since early April.
The senior played second base until the super regional, when an injury to outfielder Braden Montgomery forced him to center field, where he’s played the last four games, which have all been Texas A&M wins.
Under-recruited out of high school after losing most of his senior season to the pandemic, Chestnut spent two years at Temple College before transferring to Texas A&M prior to last season.
He had an RBI single in Saturday’s win over Florida to start the CWS and Monday walked twice and stole a base vs. Kentucky. Pflugerville coach Dale Waggoner said he’s not surprised by what his former player has done for the Aggies.
“When he was a freshman he started at shortstop for us,” said Waggoner, who is one of the longest-tenured baseball coaches in the Austin area. “You saw how athletic he was and there was something different about him. That stuff you can’t coach. When he played for us, I always knew he had a chance to play somewhere big.”
More: ‘We’re just a hard-nosed team:’ Pflugerville grinds out playoff win
Mostly known for his defense as a dynamic middle infielder, Chestnut has still contributed with his bat. He’s hitting .268 and has driven in 13 runs — his highlight was going 3-for-5 with two home runs and five RBIs in a win over Georgia in late April — while making an impact on the base paths with 17 steals.
That’s where Waggoner said he excels and thinks gives him a chance to get looked at for the minor leagues later this summer.
But first, Waggoner will be following Chestnut and Texas A&M’s every move the rest of their time in Omaha.
“It’s been pretty exciting watching him,” he said. “Just seeing all the work he’s put in having paid off is awesome. He always wanted to go somewhere where he could go to the College World Series, and we still communicate pretty regularly.”
Kent now a household name
Ironically, Kent replaced Chestnut at second base in the super regional and has burst onto the national scene ever since.
Though he played plenty during the regular season and had a hit and scored a run in the Aggies’ win over Texas in the regional tournament, it’s been a meteoric rise for Kent the last 10 days.
He went 3-for-5 with a grand slam, double and five RBIs to lead A&M in Game 2 vs. Oregon to sweep the super regional, then Monday finished 2-for-4 with two runs driven in during the CWS win over Kentucky.
In the postseason, Kent — who the son of former MLB player Jeff Kent and was the Statesman’s All-Central Texas player of the year in 2022 — is hitting over .450.
More: As son of an MLB stalwart, Lake Travis shortstop Kaeden Kent leads area’s top 6A team
Like Waggoner, Lake Travis coach Ryan Rogers said he expected his former player to do big things at the next level.
“There was a maturity about him from day one here,” said Rogers, who was an assistant during Kaeden Kent’s time with the Cavs and has since been promoted to be Lake Travis’ head coach. “You look at the way he works at it and is focused — he’s almost like a professional the way he goes about it. You knew he’d be successful once he got the opportunity.”
Stewart finishes Kentucky
Stewart made the most of his first appearance of the NCAA tournament.
Originally from Georgetown who excelled at Savio last decade, the junior struck out three and recorded the final seven outs Monday vs. the Wildcats.
Oh, and he also spent his freshman year at Texas in 2022 before transferring to join the Aggies.
Stewart has made 22 appearances this year, including tossing three shutout innings in a win over USC.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) received a $10,000 donation and 30 pet beds on Thursday.
The donation was from Robert Thiele, an Amazon delivery driver and owner of Clark Courier Services, which was named in honor of his late bulldog, Clark, who passed away this spring after a battle with cancer.
“I named Clark Courier Services after Clark because just like our drivers, he delivered smiles every single day. In a world full of best friends, Clark was the bestest,” said Thiele.
According to Amazon, the donated pet beds were given a second life through Amazon Re:Turn, which repurposes textiles from customer returns that could not be resold or donated.
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Amazon delivers $10,000 donation and pet beds to APA! (KXAN photo/Tim Holcomb)
As a surprise for Thiele, APA! unveiled memorial plaques dedicated to Clark on shelter kennels, which were inscribed with his name and the words “forever delivering.”
“Our Delivery Service Partners are local, small business owners embedded in the communities they serve. Robert’s been delivering in Austin for nearly seven years, and he’s not just moving packages. He’s showing up for the people, the pets, and the neighborhoods around him. That’s what this program is about,” said Emma Crowley, Amazon spokesperson. “Today, we got to give a little back to someone who has and will continue to give so much to others.”
Almost one year ago today, the Texas Longhorns found themselves in the losers’ bracket of their own regional, falling to the No. 3 seed UTSA Roadrunners in the 2025 Austin Regional.
For just a brief moment, it looked as if history was going to repeat itself once again, as the No. 3-seeded Tarleton State Texans got another chance at an upset, beating the Longhorns back in the regular season, 6-1, at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
But today, history was not going to repeat itself — the team that the Texans saw in the regular season was a different animal than the iteration in the winners’ bracket. Under another furious day at the plate for Texas, and an outstanding night on the mound for Dylan Volantis, Texas was not going to fall into the losers’ bracket for a second consecutive year.
“Obviously that guy on the mound, he’s one of the best pitchers, if not the best pitcher in college baseball for a reason,” said Tarleton State head coach Fuller Smith about Volantis. “We didn’t do a very good job, and I don’t know if we would beat anybody tonight, to be honest.”
Longhorns Look Unstoppable
If the past two days proved anything, Texas is playing its best baseball at the most crucial time of the season — in all three fronts of the game.
After a poor showing in the Southeastern Conference tournament by the Longhorns’ top three hitters. Aiden Robbins, Carson Tinney, and Anthony Pack Jr. have carried the brunt of the Texas offense in the postseason.
In the second inning alone, the trio rocketed three straight home runs to put the Texans down an early 6-0 hole, a deficit they would not come out of.
“I remember when I stepped on home plate [Anthony] Pack Jr. greeted me at home,” Tinney said. I looked at him, I was like, ‘It’s your turn now.’ And then two pitches later, he sent one out.”
Defensively, the Longhorns’ outfield, which struggled trying to find the right combination, has finally found the right grouping in Robbins, Pack Jr., and Dariyan Pendergrass.
Robbins and Pendergrass both were able to come up with deep fly ball grabs in the past two games. In the infield, missing core member Ethan Mendoza at second base, nonetheless, has yet to skip a beat.
“Pendergrass is a pretty veteran player, he’s been around the block a few times in college baseball,” Texas head coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “Aiden has been a great teammate — Pack [Jr.] has improved greatly over the course of time.”
However, the real star of the regional so far has been the dominance on the mound from starters Luke Harrison and Volantis.
In the regional defining game, Volantis had no issue tossing up the Tarleton State order, who found great success against UC-Santa Barbara in the opening game. The sophomore pitcher lasted 6.2 innings, tossing seven strikeouts and allowing just three hits on the night.
With the giant lead by the time Volantis was pulled in the sixth inning, the Longhorns still have not used any of their premier relief arms in this regional.
“Those two innings were definitely helpful [in the SEC Tournament],” Volnatis said. “I definitely could have done the same without those two innings today.”
Texas now awaits a third rematch with Tarleton State or UC Santa Barbara and will not have to face either of their premier arms — notably Guachos pitcher Jackson Flora, a surefire first-round selection in this year’s MLB Draft.
The Longhorns will roll with Ruger Riojas tomorrow night and likely unload its best arms who have not seen action since the final regular season series against Missouri to seal up their first regional victory in three seasons.
“It’s always good to stay in the winner’s bracket and avoid those moments, but we haven’t won anything yet. We won two games,” Schlossnagle said. “I’m certainly excited about how we played to this point and yes, I’m glad we don’t have to play two tomorrow, but the tournament’s not over.”
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AUSTIN, Texas — One person is dead but has not been identified after the Austin Police Department responded to the scene of a deceased person call in South Austin Saturday afternoon.
According to officials, a deceased person was located in a parking lot just at around 12:25 p.m. at the 4400 Block of Pack Saddle Pass after officers responded to a check welfare urgent call.
The victim was pronounced deceased at 12:36 p.m. The incident is being investigated as a suspicious death, it is not being investigated as a homicide.
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The identity of the victim is still unknown, and the age and sex of the victim has not been released.
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Anyone with information that could help the investigation is encouraged to call the APD homicide unit at 512-477-3588 or APD Crimestoppers at 512-472-8477.
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