Wednesday marked the beginning of a new chapter for high school athletes around the country. Student athletes signed letters of intent, beginning their collegiate journeys.
Four athletes representing San Marcos High School — Major Pellien, Gavin Gomez, Sunray Estrada, and Alberto (Tito) Santos — committed to play at the next level during a ceremony Wednesday morning.
Head Coach Bryan Webb presented all four seniors to the crowd inside San Marcos High School and discussed the talent they bring to the purple and white. Coach Webb stated he has watched these guys grow up and is glad they are finally being recognized.
“I’ve seen them since Velcro ball since they were three,” Webb said. “You know, I’ve been here for 17 years, so I get to see them grow up. You know, got to know their parents well and all the summer leagues and everything and to see them, you know our program advanced to this level where we can put kids at the D1 level is huge. You know it’s taken a long time, but we’ve got three division ones on this team this year and we got a whole lot more who are going to sign D2 or JUCO. It’s just good to see San Marcos getting recognized.”
One of the four commits included Major Pellien who committed to Coastal Bend College located in Beeville. Pellien is the youngest senior on the team and looks to use this as motivation entering college.
“It always makes me happy,” Pellien said. “It’s just cause I know I could be better, and I know they’re older so it’s just I have to rise up to that level and have that good mindset of I can do this and nobody is better than me.”
Although Pellien is looking toward college, he believes the Rattlers are capable of a historic season. When asked about the spring, he believes the Rattlers will play deep into the postseason.
“Nothing less than state because we’ve put in so much hard work and all this time and effort, Pellien said. “Nobody has the depth that we have.”
Alberto (Tito) Santos backed his teammate stating this team will be representing San Marcos in June at the state tournament. The rattler pitcher committed to Texas A&M Corpus Christi where he will attend the same school his father went too.
Tito’s catcher also committed to playing collegiate baseball Wednesday morning. Sunray Estrada will be attending Florida National University located in Hialeah, Fla. Estrada had connections to Conquistadors head coach Nicholaus Strong and believed it was the right move.
“I played for the head coach in the summer a couple years ago and I felt real comfortable with him, so I knew his decision had to make,” Estrada said. “I felt like we knew each other for a while already. He talked to me like he knew me for a while. The respect was there and the communication was there overall.”
Gomez also inked his name to paper Wednesday. The utility player/pitcher committed to Tarleton State in Stephenville. Gomez was one of two players that committed to a division one program and was excited to see his hard work pay off.
“It’s been a long wait,” Gomez said. “I’ve been waiting for this ever since I picked up a baseball. It’s a really exciting moment and I was pretty nervous walking in here because it’s such a big deal. I’m very excited right now.”
Rattler Baseball will take the field next spring looking to capture a state title. The four commits will have one last chance together when they face off against new District 27-6A.
