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.