Texas State notebook: Bobcats win second Sun Belt baseball title in three full seasons
SAN MARCOS — For the second time in three full seasons, Texas State has won the Sun Belt's regular-season baseball championship.
The Bobcats secured the conference title with an 8-7 win over Georgia State on Thursday night.
Texas State was the regular-season champion in 2019, but there wasn’t a champion in 2020 because the coronavirus pandemic cut that season short.
With two games left before next week's Sun Belt Tournament, No. 13 Texas State (42-11, 24-4) has passed the previous school mark for most wins in a season. The Bobcats also have doubled their win total from last year, when they finished 21-36.
“I’m happy for these guys. They’ve been through a lot,” head coach Steven Trout said in a video posted by the school. “They’ve worked extremely hard, and they are just tough dudes. They find a way to win. That was a typical Texas State win right now. Getting the lead early, finding a way to come back late with big swings. These guys just keep fighting and keep playing. I’m just really proud of these guys for winning the conference championship. That’s two in technically three years.”
The Sun Belt Tournament will start Tuesday, with the top-seeded Bobcats' first game scheduled for Wednesday night.
Football: Texas State added two more transfer pledges this week, Texas defensive lineman Myron Warren and Rutgers wide receiver Amhirr Robinson.
Warren, who is from Many, La., had other Sun Belt offers from his home state (Louisiana and Louisiana-Monroe) but opted to remain in the Central Texas area. He has three years of eligibility remaining.
Texas State is “right down the road from where I’m at right now, so I kind of feel like that’s a good program that’s building,” Warren said. “I feel that school will give me a great opportunity to go out and showcase what I can do.”
Robinson also will have three years left. He's the fourth receiver to transfer in. The Bobcats now have 26 transfers either signed or committed for their 2022 class, the second consecutive recruiting cycle with 20 or more transfers. The NCAA recently lifted its 25-scholarship limit for two years.
Men’s basketball: Another Florida transfer is coming to Texas State as the school announced that guard Elijah Kennedy has signed. He joins former Gators forward Tuon Gatkek, who committed earlier this month. Like Gatkek, Kennedy appeared in 23 games but didn’t start any.
The Bobcats have five players signed for 2022 — three transfers (Kennedy, Gatkek and Loyola-New Orleans point guard Brandon Davis) and two high school players (San Marcos guard Kaden Gumbs and Duncanville small forward Davion Sykes).
Track and field: For the first time since 2017, a Texas State athlete earned the Sun Belt women's most outstanding field performer award. Alyssa Wilson, who transferred in from UCLA, won three individual gold medals at the conference meet, becoming the first Bobcat to win three different individual throwing titles in the same season. She also was named the Sun Belt's newcomer of the year, as was Texas State's Dominic Yancy, who earned men's honors after winning gold in the 400 meters.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas State baseball wraps up Sun Belt regular-season championship
