Thrall baseball seniors making the most of final season together
JASON CHLAPEK | [email protected] THRALL — Time has flown by fast, according to Thrall High School senior Maverick McAllister.
He’s one of six seniors on the Tigers baseball team. McAllister and fellow 12th-grade athletes Ethan Boecker, Ty Bradford, Landon Gregory, Hayden Heselmeyer and Nick Treuter hope to lead Thrall (8-0-1) to a successful season in their final campaign.
“There are a lot of memories going through my head,” Bradford said. “I’m trying to make the most of my last season from practices to games. I’m not taking this for granted.”
Bradford, Heselmeyer and McAllister started for the Tigers all four years. Bradford plays center field, Heselmeyer plays first base or left field, and McAllister pitches or plays shortstop.
“I like playing in different positions,” said Heselmeyer, who played second base previously. “The change is because different people play different roles, and I’ll play wherever (Coach Justin Adams) needs me to play.”
Change has been a constant for Thrall during the last two seasons. Adams became the head coach in 2024, and the Tigers moved up from Class 2A to 3A this season.
“It’s really exciting. We have a really good team this year,” Heselmeyer said.
Thrall is a member of District 19-3A, which also includes stalwarts such as Cameron Yoe, Little River-Academy, Rogers and defending 3A state champion Franklin. The Tigers open district play with a home-and-home series with Franklin on Tuesday in Franklin and Thursday in Thrall.
“Franklin is going to be good. Our whole district is competitive,” Heselmeyer said. “We have to put our best foot forward and work to beat them. I think facing them right off the bat will set the bar high for us, but we’re ready to compete against anyone we face.”
In his second year, Adams made an impact on his players. Just ask Boecker.
“Coach Adams has brought a lot of energy to the program,” Boecker said. “There’s also a lot of team chemistry and we work well as a group.”
Boecker plays second base for the Tigers. He is a two-year letterman in baseball and is excited about 19-3A play beginning soon. “Our district has good teams,” Boecker said. “It’s going to take a lot of practice, and we need to stay injury-free.”
Team chemistry is something Bradford believes helps Thrall on the diamond. He also is happy to play for Adams.
“We grew up playing together here and there, but our freshman year was the first time that we had everybody together (on the same team),” Bradford said. “We’ve helped each other become baseball players. Coach Adams has brought a lot of leadership and organization.”
Each of these final-year athletes participated in more than one sport as well. Gregory, McAllister and Treuter played football; Bradford competes in golf; Boecker took on basketball; and Heselmeyer takes part in powerlifting.
Heselmeyer competed in the Region 2-Division 3 powerlifting meet on Saturday, March 8, for a chance to return to the state meet in Abilene March 21-22. He competes in the 220-pound weight class and finished fourth in the state in the 198-pound weight class last year.
He plans to attend Texas A&M University and major in construction science. Treuter wants to focus on construction science at Blinn College.
Treuter, a catcher, suffered a hand injury that required surgery. He plans to be completely healed in two to three weeks.
“As soon as I get healthy, I’m going to do what I can to get back with it,” Treuter said.
Treuter is considering walking on for baseball at Blinn. He played wide receiver in football — the same position that Gregory played.
Gregory, an outfielder who primarily serves as a courtesy baserunner for the Tigers, will play football at McMurry University. This is his first year to participate in baseball for Thrall, however.
“All of my friends play, and they seem to have fun with it,” Gregory said. “I have nothing else to do besides track, so I figured I’d come out and help run bases with them.”
In track and field, Gregory runs sprints or relays. He’s excited not only to play baseball for the Tigers, but also for his future at McMurry.
“I’m going to play receiver and it’ll be good to focus all of my time and effort into playing that position,” said Gregory, who also played safety in football. “I won’t have to worry about playing two positions.”
Like Gregory, McAllister will play at the next level, albeit he’ll play baseball — either shortstop or second base — at West Texas A&M University next season.
“I really like the campus, the coaches are nice and they have a really good program,” McAllister said. “It seemed like the right fit.”
For now, McAllister is focused on helping his teammates reach the postseason and go as far as they can.
“The last four years went by pretty fast,” McAllister said. “We’re facing some good competition to open district play. We just have to play how we’ve been playing. We have to go out there, be confident and have fun. We should be prepared for anybody now.”
