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College Station-Bound: SBS junior Ty Baker commits to Aggies over summer
HOUSTON – Ty Baker '23 had a sophomore pitching season to remember with Second Baptist School's baseball team.
As one of the aces for Second Baptist School, which reached the TAPPS State Semifinals last spring, Baker posted video-game-like numbers.
In district play, he posted an ERA of 0.00. No, that's not a typo. Overall, he posted a 0.38 ERA, while going 4-0 with two saves, holding opponents to an abysmal .092 batting average and striking out 59 in 144 batters faced.
"Last year we fell short in the playoffs, which was obviously a disappointment," Baker said. "Our goals are to sweep district again and win state this year. We have a lot of great returning players that will have big impacts, and a couple of transfers that will be studs."
Second Baptist School's upcoming baseball season is sure to garner plenty of attention, especially at the collegiate level, including that of new Texas A&M head coach Jim Schlossnagle, who made the move from TCU in the offseason.
In July, Schlossnagle got another checkmark on his recruiting board in the form of Baker committing to the Aggies for 2023.
"Texas A&M has always been a top choice," Baker said. "I've always wanted to play in Texas and in the SEC, so it checks both of those boxes. The new coaching staff is awesome, and Coach Yeskie (the pitching coach) is an awesome guy and Coach Schlossnagle is a proven winner.
Baker continues, "The new staff has been great with recruiting, and I think all of us are very excited to see how we can help Texas A&M baseball win a national championship."
Baker, who enters his junior season in 2021-2022, has been working on his mechanics a lot this summer to get his three pitches – fastball, curveball and changeup – where he wants them to be.
It also helps that when he walks into a practice at Second Baptist School, his head coach Rayner Noble, is the all-time winningest baseball coach at the University of Houston and set to be inducted into their Hall of Honor this week, and his pitching coach is World Series Champion Andy Pettitte.
Not a bad combo.
"Having Coach Noble as a head coach is a great resource because of his years coaching in college. He has excellent experience and really understands the game," Baker said. "Coach Pettitte has been super influential on my pitching as well. He is awesome to have in the dugout and has really helped my mental game and holding on runners. He is a great man I want to emulate on and off the field."
But at Second Baptist School, for Baker it is more than what happens between the white lines of the baseball diamond that makes this place feel special for the future Aggie.
"I love SBS. From the classroom to athletics, you always feel like the faculty want you to succeed and are genuinely interested in you," Baker said. "Our athletic facilities and programs are top-notch."