Albany grad gets unexpected trip to College World Series
By Sam Waller
When Jackson Chapman decided to pass on an opportunity to play junior college baseball, he didn’t realize it would lead to him participating in the College World Series.
Chapman, a 2021 Albany graduate, wound up on college baseball’s biggest stage – Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska – in a supporting role as Texas A&M’s bullpen catcher.
“I never thought I would end up doing that, being in Omaha,” Chapman said.
Primarily a pitcher and third baseman for the Lions, Chapman’s most recent experience behind a plate was as a high school sophomore in 2019.
“I just accidentally fell into this job,” he said. “I could have played at Cisco College, but I had academic scholarship money that took me to Texas A&M.”
Even after turning down a chance to play for the Wranglers, Chapman made use of his connection with Cisco’s program to get his gig with the Aggies.
“I texted the Cisco College coach, David White, and asked him to check with the Texas A&M coach, Jim Schlossnagle, to see if they had any openings,” he said. “It just so happened they did. I went and interviewed and got the job.”
In high school, Chapman also played football, basketball through his sophomore year, and participated in FFA and one-act play. At A&M, he was looking for a way to stay involved with baseball.
“It was an experience, being part of the team,” he said. “I knew I wanted to do something in baseball. I didn’t know if I was going to play in a rec league or not at A&M, but I wanted to stay involved in the game. It just so happened I get to do it now with the Aggies.”
As a freshman, Chapman was the youngest of four men who handled a multitude of duties.
“Two of the other guys played junior college ball and were both juniors,” he said. “The other guy was working on his master’s and was full-time.”
Chapman’s role included helping with practices on days he wasn’t busy getting a relief pitcher ready to enter a game.
“I helped with practice, then we were kind of part-time equipment managers,” he said. “We did a little bit of everything around the place. In practice, we’d help set up the field, hit fungoes, throw BP (batting practice), stuff like that.”
Being part of the Aggies’ success was just icing on the cake. And it was totally unexpected.
“The season started off kind of rocky, and we didn’t know if we were even going to make the conference tournament,” Chapman said.
The low point came following the loss of consecutive Southeastern Conference series to Auburn and Alabama. Though the Aggies never lost more than two games in a row, they struggled to break out of the pack.
Texas A&M won its last seven series to gain some momentum, finishing 19-11 in SEC play.
“After one game at conference, we just kind of flipped a switch and started jelling as a team. Everything went up from there.”
The Aggies went 44-20 for the season, exceeding expectations along the way.
“At the beginning of the season, we were picked to finish dead last in the West Division, maybe the whole conference,” Chapman said. “We ended up winning the West and finishing second overall.”
In the SEC tournament, the Aggies beat Florida and Alabama before being eliminated by the Gators in the semifinals.
Selected to host a four-team regional in the NCAA tournament, the Aggies dispatched Oral Roberts, Louisiana-Lafayette, and TCU before sweeping Louisville in two games in a super regional played at Olsen Field.
Chapman said playing two rounds at home proved to be a huge advantage.
“That was a big thing,” he said. “You get to sleep in your own bed, and then you get the home crowd. The support that A&M fans give us is unbelievable.”
Then came the trip to Omaha, which Chapman said was an eye-opening experience.
“All of the stadiums we went to this year had neat environments, but none of them topped Omaha,” he said. “It’s something you dream of as a kid, walking out the tunnel and through the dugout and looking at the whole place. On game days, walking out you see the whole crowd. It’s unreal. It gets you going.”
The Aggies’ run ended on June 22 with a 5-1 loss to Oklahoma, which had also beat A&M in the first round. But that first loss set up a moment that will long be cherished by Aggies.
On Sunday, June 19, A&M defeated the Texas Longhorns 10-2 in an elimination game.
“(Beating Texas) is always a good time for an Aggie,” Chapman said. “We beat them earlier in the year in Austin, but it was pretty special beating them on Father’s Day, too.”
