MVPs of South Texas: Here are 12 professional athletes from the Coastal Bend

High school football season is underway in Corpus Christi, and there are already players people are keeping their eye on.

Football is only one among the high school sports that the community traditionally supports and celebrates. And the Coastal Bend is no stranger to seeing student athletes make it to the big leagues.

Below are 12 professional athletes born or raised in the Corpus Christi area, including an Olympian, an NFL Hall of Famer and NASCAR Cup Series champions.

Amy Acuff — track and field

Born in Port Arthur, this Calallen High School graduate was the salutatorian in 1993. She competed for the United States in track and field five times between 1996 and 2012. She is a six-time USA outdoor champion and five-time USA indoor champion.

Acuff's personal best high jump indoors was 1.97 meters in Indianapolis in March 1995. Her best high jump outdoors was 2.01 meters in Zurich in August 2003.

She competed in 27 international competitions between 1992 to 2012.

John Michael Adams — relief pitcher

Adams grew up in Sinton and played baseball and basketball at Sinton High School. He attended Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where he continued to play both sports before being signed by the Milwaukee Brewers in 2001 as an undrafted free agent.

He played for the Brewers from 2004 to 2006, San Diego Padres from 2008 to 2011, Texas Rangers from 2011 to 2012 and Philadelphia Phillies from 2013 to 2014.

Throughout his MLB career, his win-loss record was 21-20 with an earned run average or 2.41 and 409 strikeouts.

Roberto Elizondo — boxer

Born in Corpus Christi, the former professional boxer fought for the World Boxing Council's world Lightweight title twice but was unsuccessful both times. Elizondo competed in professional boxing from 1977 to 1987 and is a member of the Corpus Christi Boxing Hall of Fame.

He debuted in April 1977 at the Lantana Sports Complex against four wins and eight losses from boxer Rodolfo Perez. In December 1980, Elizondo made his Las Vegas debut and fought 13 wins, 11 losses and three draws against Jesus Salcedo.

Elizondo retired in 1987 with a record of 31 wins and six losses in 38 professional boxing fights, with 23 victories and five defeats by way of knockout.

Clint Gresham — long snapper

Born and raised in Corpus Christi, Gresham graduated from Ray High School in 2005. He started his college career at the University of Oklahoma but then transferred to Texas Christian University and graduated in 2009.

He was the only long snapper invited to the 2010 NFL Draft, but he was not selected and was signed as an undrafted free agent for that year's season by the New Orleans Saints. After being picked up by the Seattle Seahawks in August 2010, Gresham resigned in 2015 but was released by the Seahawks a year later.

During his NFL career, he played 96 games and won Super Bowl XLVIII in 2014.

Burt "Happy" Hooton — pitcher

Hooton was born in Greenville in North Texas and graduated from King High School in 1968. While at King, he led the Mustangs to a 4A State Championship in the school's second year of operation in 1967.

After attending the University of Texas at Austin, Hooton made his MLB debut in June 1971. He only appeared in three games before the end of the season, where he struck out 15 batters in one game. He was transferred to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1975 and played his last season with the Texas Rangers in 1985.

After hanging up his mitt, Hooton returned to his university to earn a degree in journalism and then began a career as a pitching coach with the Salem Dodges, San Antonio Missions, Albuquerque Dukes and San Diego Padres.

Brooks Kieschnick — pitcher/outfielder

Born in Robstown, Kieschnick graduated from Carroll High School and attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played three seasons of baseball.

He was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1993 as part of an amateur draft and made his major league debut in April 1996. Kieschnick was with the Cubs for two years before diving into minor league teams for a few years. He played with the Cincinnati Reds in 2000, Colorado Rockies in 2001 and Milwaukee Brewers from 2003 to 2004.

Kieschnick is the only baseball player to win the Dick Howser Trophy twice, an award for college baseball's best player.

Bobby and Terry Labonte — stock car drivers

The Labonte brothers were born in Corpus Christi and moved to North Carolina in 1978 to follow Terry Labonte's advancement to the Winston Cup Series.

They are one of only two pairs of brothers to have both won the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series, now called the NASCAR Cup Series. During Bobby Labonte's 25-year career, he was in 729 races and his brother was in 890 over his 37-year career.

Terry and Bobby Labonte were inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

Riley Odoms — tight end

Odoms was born in Luling, northeast of San Antonio, and graduated from West Oso High School. He played football at the University of Houston before debuting with the Denver Broncos in 1972.

During his entire 11-year football career, Odoms played for the Broncos, where he had 396 receptions for 5,755 yards and scored 41 touchdowns.

Odoms was a four-time Pro Bowl selection and a two-time All Pro in the 1970s.

Johnny Roland — running back

The former running back was born and raised in Corpus Christi and graduated from Miller High School. He played college football at the University of Missouri and rushed for 830 yards in 1962, which was the seventh best total in the nation.

Roland was drafted in 1965 by the St. Louis Cardinals and was named UPI NFL-NFC Rookie of the Year in 1966. He played with the Cardinals for seven seasons and then went on to play one season with the New York Giants. He started his coaching career in 1974 and finished in 2005.

During his 103 NFL games, Roland rushed for 3,750 yards and 28 touchdowns on 1,015 attempts, caught 153 passes for 1,430 yards and six touchdowns, returned 49 punts for 452 yards with two touchdowns, returned 22 kickoffs for 444 yards and completed five of 13 passes for 130 yards and one touchdown.

Jose Trevino — catcher

The new kid on the block, Trevino was born in Corpus Christi and graduated from St. John Paul II High School. He attended Oral Roberts University in Oklahoma and played for the Golden Eagles. In 2013, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox in the Cape Cod Baseball League.

Trevino made his professional debut with the Spokane Indians in 2014, then played for the High Desert Mavericks in 2016 and for the Frisco RoughRiders in 2017. He made his major league debut in 2018 with the Texas Rangers and was traded to the New York Yankees in 2022.

He was named an American League All-Star Reserve at catcher in 2022 after accumulating the second most catcher WAR (wins above replacement) in the league.

Gene Upshaw — guard

Upshaw was born in Robstown and graduated from high school there. He played college football at Texas A&I University, now Texas A&M University-Kingsville, in 1963.

Also known as "Uptown Gene" and "Highway 63," Upshaw played left offensive guard for the Oakland Raiders from 1967 to 1981. During that time, he played in three Super Bowls in 1967, 1976 and 1980, making him the first player to reach the game in three different decades.

Upshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987 and also inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1996.

RELATED COVERAGE

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John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com or Twitter @johnpoliva.

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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: MVPs of South Texas: Here are 12 pro athletes from the Coastal Bend