As I drove down Ocean Drive towards the TAMUCC campus, chocked full of anticipation for my senior season, I began to reflect upon my past three years as an Islander. It amazes me how this baseball program has evolved and changed in my short tenure here. I thought about all of my teammates that have come and gone through this program, and what being an Islander has meant to me. I remembered how I felt on this day, three years ago as a freshman, meeting the coaching staff and upperclassmen. I was both nervous and excited to begin my career as an Islander. As I approached the Island Campus for my fourth year, my nerves and excitement had not faded in the least.
The expectations for this year’s group of “Ders” could not be higher. This season the team has 13 returning seniors, and a talented group of juniors and sophomores. There will also be a handful of newcomers to the Islanders, comprised of incoming freshman recruits and Junior college transfers. The coaches worked extremely hard to assemble this group of players, and they believe that we have what it takes to achieve our goals. Classes will start in a few days, and the team will collectively begin to work toward that goal; the program’s first Southland Conference Championship.
The fall semester, and this season’s journey towards the Southland Conference tournament began on August 27th in Island Hall – Room 158. The classroom seemed small, as it overflowed with the 2014-2015 Islanders, all assembled to hear Head Coach Scott Malone. He went over the expectations of us as student-athletes, the expectations of our roles as ambassadors of the University, the expectations of the work that’s required to be successful; but above all, he conveyed the expectations of what it is to be an Islander. I’ve heard that speech three times before, but this year, I understood it. As a senior, it has a different meaning.
The first team meeting is when you reunite with your teammates that you haven’t seen all summer, as well as getting a glimpse of the junior college and incoming freshman players that you’ve heard so much about. This is, and always has been one of the most exciting days of the year for me as a player. You get to meet the group of guys that you will spend 90 percent of your time with, both on and off the field. The Islanders roster is a varied one that that shows no bias to recruiting any particular region. This year’s team features ballplayers from all walks of life. We have ranch hands from South Texas, like senior LHP Trevor Belicek from Uvalde Texas, all the way to international players like sophomore infielder Dawson Yates, from Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada and senior infielder Franki Salas from Baja California, Mexico.
The Islanders roster may be made up of players from all over North America, but if there is one thing that being an Islander has shown me, it’s that any group of 40 young men, no matter where they may be from, form an instant brotherhood when the lights at the “Dirty Chap” come on and it’s time to play ball! Practice starts soon, we understand the expectations, and we’re all ready to do whatever it takes to bring the Southland Conference Championship to Corpus Christi!
I am excited to be given the opportunity to update you on the Islanders season. Go Ders!
Jacob Dorris
