The Texas A&M baseball program got some good news Saturday night in the recruiting department, securing a commitment from a talented pitching prospect.
Jonathan Childress, currently a sophomore left-handed pitcher from Forney, Texas, announced via Twitter on Saturday that he plans to play his collegiate ball for Coach Rob Childress (no relation) at A&M. The promising southpaw expressed what made him choose the Aggies.
“I just loved the coaching staff, the fan base and the campus is beautiful,” Childress told Chris Webb of D1Baseball.com. “What stood out is that I really felt at home the moment I got there.”
The 6-foot-4, 200-pounder currently sports a mid-80's fastball and a sharp curveball, per Webb, but with still three full years of high school and summer ball left, how good he can become is still unknown.
Childress plays his summer ball with The Banditos, a very well-known organization located in the Houston area that has produced several big-time college and professional baseball players, including A&M outfielder Nick Banks.
Already highly regarded despite his youth, Childress was one of the 20 players who were selected to play for USA Baseball’s 15U National Team in the COPABE “AA” Pan-American Championships.
An assistant coach on that national team spoke with Webb about his potential, saying that as Childress develops and continues to improve his understanding of pitching, he will be tough to hit.
Childress’ pledge adds another pitcher to a 2018 recruiting class that already included two highly-touted pitchers; Mason Englert – one of Childress’ best friend who also hails from Forney – and Grayson Rodriguez of Nacogdoches, Texas.
After coming within one win of advancing to the College World Series, college baseball’s penultimate prize, the Aggies are slated to be one of the best teams in college baseball again this year. When Baseball America made its early predictions back in June on who would make it to Omaha in 2016, A&M, not surprisingly, was on the list.
The future of Texas A&M baseball is undoubtedly bright. They have already received verbal commitments from 11 players in the 2016 class and four players for 2017, according to Perfect Game.
It might be three years down the road before Childress steps foot on campus, but it’s commitments like his that make it incredibly difficult to not be excited about the future of Aggie baseball.