Congratulations to our soon-to-be sophomore centerfielder for being selected as Amarillo College's first Baseball Athlete of the Year.
2023 Stat Recap
8th highest home run total in NJCAA D I (21)
Team best BA .382
Team best RBIs 66
Team best OBP .507
Team best SLG .873
Our inaugural season is in the books.
We ended the season with a 28-28 record and a 17-19 conference mark, good enough for 5th place in the 10-team WJCAC.
Thank you fans, AC, and the Amarillo Community for the tremendous support!
Just five months after our inaugural season concluded, we have our first NCAA Division I commit in program history.
Bright future ahead for Jan and the Badger baseball team!
Second season in program history is on deck ⏳
34 days out from our season-opening series against Johnson County Community College at Hodgetown.
2024 schedule ➡️
HIM.
David De Hoyos gives us our second consecutive walk-off victory with a three-run homer over the left field wall!
De Hoyos stat line through 3 games:
5-of-10, 2 HR, 5 R, 4 RBIs, 2 2B, 1 BB
There's no place like home! 🏡
Amarillo High centerfielder/pitcher Cannon Davis signed with Amarillo College this evening, joining our 2023 recruiting class.
Fall ball season is here!
We start our 2023-24 journey today in Altus, Oklahoma against Western Oklahoma State College.
We'll conclude play this week at the Seminole State Tourney in Oklahoma, Sept. 6-7.
A 1-2-3 inning, which featured two strikeouts, for Bryce Gilchrist in his Badger debut.
Lots of potential for the freshman transfer from Sam Houston St.
Into the AC record book!
Sophomore pitcher Gabe Watson tallied the second-highest strikeout total in program history (11) during the Badgers game 1 win against Lamar CC.
The
@PurdueBaseball
commit has 22 SO's and given up only five hits in 11.1 innings pitched this season.
Unblemished.
Duncan Bowles joined the nation's elite today, becoming 1 of 8 pitchers in NJCAA D-1 to have at least 6 wins and no losses.
The freshman had 9 K's and 2 ER in five innings today to improve his record to 6-0.
Good luck to our five returning Badger sophomores competing in the Texas-New Mexico All Star games today and tomorrow.
Our participants include:
Reese Frantom - Pitcher
Sydney Ward - Outfielder
Gabe Watson - Outfielder/Pitcher
Grant Watkins - Infielder
Jan Avila - Infielder
The Badgers all-time leader in home runs, hits, RBIs, and runs will continue his baseball career where it all began.
Sydney Ward is headed to his hometown to play baseball for the New Mexico Lobos this upcoming season.
The AC NCAA D-1 pipeline is now at 5 through two seasons.
Our 10-day season countdown begins with Rockwall High School graduate Remington Spoerl!
The 6-foot-2 righty was a Class 6A District 10 First-Team selection in 2023 as a pitcher.
Spoerl plans on pursuing a career in real estate after baseball and college.
The Badgers home run barrage continues!
Sydney Ward hit his fifth home run of the season and third of the series in game 3 vs Lamar CC. Ward's career HR mark is now at 26.
Grant Watkins adds his third homer of the year on a solo shot in the 5th inning.
Team HR total now at 15
Four shutout innings in his first career start!
Have a day Noah Turner.
The freshman Portland, Texas picked up his first career win in game 2 against Howard College. Turner struck out 3 batters and allowed no earned runs in 4.2 innings of work.
The 10-5A Offensive Player of the Year is officially part of our 2024 recruiting class!
Diego Gonzalez is a 2x all-district selection in both football and baseball for the Coyotes. In 2023, he was a Dave Campbell's Impactful Leadership Award recipient.
Welcome
@Diego_Gonzo06
The Amarillo College Black & Blue World Series is tied up at 1-1 following a 12-2 win by the Black 66's on Monday.
Sydney Ward recorded a 3-run homer and Dylan Steele had a 2-run shot for the 66's.
Colton Klemke, Carlos Duran, and Isaac Garza combined for 11 SO's on the mound.
A record-setting 13 Badgers earn WJCAC All-Conference honors.
Congratulations to our 10 freshmen and 3 sophomore honorees.
The future is bright in Amarillo.
Story 🔗
The Badgers welcome transfer
@Brycewgilchrist
for our upcoming spring season.
The former all-district baseball player and all-state tight end at Frisco Heritage will join our pitching staff after spending the fall semester with the Sam Houston State football team.
Badgers take game 2 17-14. Badgers hit a combined 6 home runs.
@AustinPage34
with 2 doubles and 2 home runs! Sydney ward with 2 home runs.
@ryanruff7
with a grand-slam!!
@JohnPaulHinojo2
with a home run!
The Big Blue Texans regained their series lead in Game 3 of the AC Black & Blue World Series on Tuesday via a 6-2 victory.
Freshmen Duncan Bowles and Noah Turner recorded 4 SO's apiece on the mound. Bret Deegan led the winning's squad offense with his 2nd homer of the series.
On one of the biggest stages of his baseball career, Hereford senior pitcher Carlos Duran seized the moment.
The Whiteface's ace for the past three years committed to the Badger baseball program on Monday following an extraordinary postseason outing.
The foundation of the Badgers NCAA D-I pipeline has been built!
After 2 seasons since the reboot of athletics at AC, 4 Badger transfers are set to compete at the D-I level.
We wish the best of luck to Jan Avila, Chris Benavidez, Grant Watkins, and Gabe Watson with their new
Our inaugural Badger Athletics Kickoff was a huge success!
Thank you to our sponsors for making the event possible.
Our sponsors include:
Plains Dairy
FirstBank Southwest
Tyson
Teddy Jack's
Sam's Club
Affiliated Foods
Timeless Events
The Big Blue Texans are Amarillo College Black and Blue World Series champions.
The group, captained by Gabe Watson, defeated the Black 66’s 17-10 on Wednesday to win the series 3-1.
Watson hit his 3rd homer of the series and Grant Watkins added his second homer for Big Blue.
Our first set of AC baseball award honorees🏅
Chris Benavidez: Most Valuable Player
Grant Watkins: Co-Offensive Player of the Year
David De Hoyos: Co-Offensive Player of the Year
Payton Bush: Defensive Player of the Year
Bret Deegan: Pitcher of the Year
The Badger baseball team is in action today at Seminole State tournament in Oklahoma.
Amarillo College plays Conners State at 10 a.m. today and is scheduled to play Seminole at 1 p.m.
Check out the live stream of the game on TBSN
Congratulations to these 12 dedicated student-athletes for making the Dean's List this past fall!
A special shoutout goes to Chris Benavidez, Ryan Branch, Jaxon Smith, and Dylan Steele for earning a 4.0 GPA.
Thriving on the field and in the classroom 📚
Hats off to these 6 Badgers for making the Dean's List this past spring semester!
To attain inclusion on the prestigious list, students must attend AC full time and earn a grade point average of 3.6 or higher.
T-minus Noah Turner days till week embark on our second season!
The Gregory Portland High School product was the 29-5A Co-MVP as a pitcher for the Wildcats last spring. Turner tallied a 1.29 ERA in nine starts and 10 appearances.
Badgers win game two today 13 to 9 and clinch the series against Western Texas College.
@JohnPaulHinojo2
went 3-5 with a double and a homerun with 3 rbis.
@Will_Franklinn
goes 3-6 with 4 rbis.
@braceforjace22
with the win.
Series clinched.
Amarillo College takes 3 of 4 on the road against Frank Phillips College to begin play in the WJCAC.
The Badgers are tied for first place in the conference after one week.
Season Record: 15-5
Conference Record: 3-1
Benny rewrites the AC record book!
Chris Benavidez recorded the first 3 home run game in team history today and hit the Badgers 1st grand slam of the season.
The outfielder from Bryan, TX now has 9 home runs on the year and is hitting over a .400 average in the leadoff role.
Phenomenal fight from our team in our season opener!
Took the eighth-ranked squad in the country to extra innings.
Time to build on it in game 2.
#ClawsUp
The Badgers set records on the field and in the classroom during 2023-24 season.
Congratulations to these 12 Badgers on earning academic all-conference honors in the WJCAC for this past spring semester.
AC Baseball Uncommitted Spotlight
Sophomore 1B Grant Watkins
@grantwbaseball
2024 Stats
Home Runs – 17
SLG - .721
OPS – 1.171
Batting Avg - .358
RBIs – 58
Awards
2x All Conference Infielder - 1st Team in 2024
2024 All Region V Infielder
@BUncommitted
A big thank you goes out to Dickey's Barbecue in Amarillo for being a sponsor of the Badger baseball team this upcoming season and the delicious meal yesterday!
We are appreciative of your support of our student-athletes.
The Big Blue Texans take game 1 of the Amarillo College Black & Blue World Series with a 14-7 win over the Black 66's.
The winning squad hit 4 home runs, led by Gabe Watson's two longballs and 6 RBIs. Bret Deegan and Grant Watkins added one homer each.
Game 2 set for Monday.
Congratulations to our returning sophomores - Jan Avila and Gabe Watson - for being honored during the Amarillo College Board of Regents meeting on Nov. 28.
The duo, who are set to play for Rutgers and Purdue, are the first pair of NCAA Division I recruits in program history.
One of the best power hitting duos in NJCAA D-I.
Grant Watkins x Chris Benavidez
Watkins' pair of homers during game 3 against Howard College moves his HR total for the season to 11. Benavidez hit his fourth homer of the series in the contest, moving his season HR total to 10.
First intrasquad scrimmage of the season 📸
Two more on deck this Friday and Saturday to conclude our first week of practice at John Stiff Memorial Park's baseball complex.
A pair of Badgers are the Western Junior College Athletic Conference Players of the Week!
RHP Bret Deegan improved his record to 3-0 via 10 SO's and 1 ER against Lamar CC.
OF Sydney Ward claimed his 3rd WJCAC POTW honor after hitting 3 HR's, a .533 avg, and 13 RBIs.
A phenomenal effort today on the mound by these four Badgers!
The group combined for 26 strikeouts, 5 hits allowed, and 1 earned run.
Bret Deegan claimed the win in game 2 and improved his record as a starting pitcher to 3-0.
Outstanding showing by Duncan Bowles in game three against Midland College.
The freshman started the contest with five shutout innings and tied a career-high strikeout total (9).
The Randall High School product now has 54 strikeouts compared to 19 walks this season.
The Amarillo College Black & Blue World Series begins today at Sandie Field!
The following is the starting lineup for the Big Blue Texans, captained by returning sophomore pitcher/outfielder Gabe Watson.
Have a day Grant Watkins!
The sophomore first baseman became the first Badger this season to hit back-to-back home runs today in game 3 against the Westerners.
Watkins HR total (8) leads the team through 23 games.
We are 15 days out from getting our second season underway at Hodgetown!
The Badgers season begins against Johnson County CC Feb. 3-4.
Tickets are now available for purchase for our 25 home games at Hodgetown via the link below.
Badgers Take game one 10-0.
@coopergolden29
absolutely phenomenal job today with a complete game shutout! 5ip 9ks 2H!! Notables
@ryanruff7
with 2 doubles!
We are Payton Bush days away from first pitch at Hodgetown!
The infielder and right-handed pitcher finished his high school career at Randall as a three-time, all-state selection - the only soph. honored in 2021 - and was named the 2023 Amarillo Globe-News Player of the Year.
Grant Watkins - the first Badger to be selected to NJCAA Region V All Region Team in program history.
Only 8 infielders - 4 from the WJCAC, 4 from the NTJCAC - receive the prestigious honor out of 76 starting INF in the region.
Congratulations
@grantwbaseball
, well deserved!
Black Cadillacs take game one 12-1 over the Blue Flatlanders in today’s Black and Blue Fall World Series.
@Will_Franklinn
with the walk off oppo 🌮 💣 to secure the run rule.
@CoachRains20
AC Baseball Uncommitted Spotlight
Sophomore OF Sydney Ward
@SydneyWard2022
Career Stats at Amarillo College
Home Runs – 30
RBIs – 108
SLG - .729
Batting Avg - .368
OBP - .470
Awards
2x All Conference Honoree
11 IN A ROW
AC secures their second consecutive sweep and does so in dominant fashion with 3 straight run-rule victories against Trinidad St.
The Badgers tallied 49 runs, 43 hits, and 7 home runs in the series.
Win Streak = 11
Season Record: 12-3
Our all-region and all-conference first baseman will continue his baseball career at Abilene Christian University!
Grant Watkins was an instrumental part of our first recruiting class, finishing his time at AC as top-3 career leader in home runs, slugging percentage, hits, and
Blessed to announce my commitment to Abiline Christian University. Thankful for my family, coaches and teammates who helped me every step of the way. Go wildcats.
Conference🧹🧹🧹🧹Complete
In his first at-bat of the series, Bret Deegan hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to secure the Badgers comeback victory. The home run propelled the Badgers to a 12-9 win.
Conference record: 10-6
Season record: 22-10
Making a statement in his first start on the mound!
Randall High graduate and 6-foot-6 freshman pitcher, Duncan Bowles, struck out four batters and allowed no earned runs in 4 innings of work.
Our record is 2-1 after 3 games against Johnson County to begin the season.
In a class of his own.
Bret Deegan became the first pitcher in program history to record double-digit strikeouts on 3 occasions in a single season today, doing so in only 6 starts.
The freshman entered today as the NJCAA D-1 leader in K/9 at 15.61.
Today:
5 IP
10 K
0 ER
0 H
Conference-opening dub!
David De Hoyos records the second inside-the-park homer in program history and Bret Deegan moves his record to 5-0 as a starting pitcher with 9 K's in 5.1 innings.
The 5A District 7 Utility Player of the Year is Amarillo bound!
Gavin McKnight, a catcher/infielder/pitcher, earned the Varsity Scholar Athlete Award at Denton Ryan and was an all-conference catcher as a sophomore.
Welcome
@gavinmcknight17
Starting off the series with a run-rule victory.
Payton Bush, Luis Gonzalez, and David De Hoyos lead the team with three hits apiece. Bret Deegan added his second home run of the season.
Gabe Watson picks up his second win and tallies 7 strikeouts in 3.2 innings.
The Badger Swiss Army Knife.
Chris Benavidez can do it all!
The Badgers leadoff hitter from Bryan, TX has 21 hits, 3 home runs, 14 RBIs, 17 runs, 5 walks, and is hitting a team-best .477 average in 44 at-bats this season.
The outfielder also has a perfect fielding percentage.
Eight high school seniors join the Badger baseball family today!
Ryland Mahoney kicks our National Signing Day commitments. The left-handed pitcher from Dripping Springs is a two-time all-district baseball and academic selection in Class 6A.
#NationalSigningDay
#ClawsUp
Hitting 💣 is a habit 💥
Our 8 homers against El Paso CC over the weekend 🎥
HR's during the series: Sydney Ward (2), Chris Benavidez (2), David De Hoyos, Gerardo Prado, Jan Avila, Grant Watkins.
Season home run total: 40 in 28 games
NJCAA D-1 Rank: Tied for 15th
The Oklahoma➡️Amarillo pipeline is in full swing.
Dewar, OK native Zack Mullens is a 2x all-conference pitcher and an all-district honoree in 2021.
The right-hander is a 2x state semifinalist, part of the National Honor Society, and holds a 3.75 GPA.
Welcome
@ZackMullen13
David De Hoyos is a threat every time he steps to the plate!
The Smithson Valley High School product hit a home run and a double in a 2-of-4 performance in his first game as a Badger.
The 3B and San Antonio native also had a perfect fielding percentage in game 1.
Bounced Back.
Duncan Bowles moves his record to 5-0 on the mound with a season-best 9 K's in 5.2 innings and 101 pitches.
The entire Badger batting order had at least one hit, highlighted by Grant Watkins' sixth homer of the season.
AC holds a 2-1 series lead. Game 4 on deck.
Four days from first pitch at Hodgetown!
Introducing No. 4, 2022 Lubbock-Cooper graduate Colton Klemke.
The 6-foot-4 pitcher led the Pirates to a series-clinching win against Randall in the 5A regional quarterfinals as a senior.
Klemke was also an academic all-state honoree.
FOUND A WAY
The Badgers rally from a 6-5 deficit and secure the reverse sweep, taking the series 3-1.
Lawson Peel picked up his first win on the mound in his Badger career. Isaac Garza threw the final 3.1 innings of the contest and had 4 strikeouts and gave up no earned runs.