While NAIA baseball is oft written off by scouts and fans alike, I have an inkling Houston Baptist University is one school you might want to pencil in on your calendar to take note of next year. In 2007 the Huskies won Region VI and partook in the NAIA World Series to the tune of a third place finish. It was the first time HBU had advanced past the regional tournament and they nearly double dipped with their first World Series title before being ousted by Lewis-Clark State College. The trip was rewarding in more ways than one, as the Huskies found out near the end of the season that their bid to play at the Division I level next year had been accepted. The bump up to the next level in 2008 will undoubtedly be challenging but HBU will be led by their star-studded outfield as they try to light up the Houston sky in hopes of overtaking Rice and UH as top Dogs in this city.

Junior outfielder Greg Gossett highlighted that trio of players roaming fabled Husky Field last season. The former Kingwood High School star led all Huskies (ever, in fact) with a school-record 98 hits. He also led this years team with a .405 average and 32 stolen bases in addition to 8 triples, 5 home runs, 38 rbi's, and a 1.068 ops all of which garnered him NAIA All-American and World Series All-Tournament honors. He is a far cry from the skinny All-Stater who was known more for his fielding and speed under Coach David Denny at Kingwood. As his frame has developed his mindset has as well and this solid superstar knows that it's about more than statistical superiority as he has transitioned nicely from second base to left field under HBU coach Jared Moon. The spry soon-to-be senior is also aware that while on-the-field honors are nice it's in the classroom for his teachers where the real game is played. Gossett is double majoring in marketing and business administration and looks to graduate next December. That is if a few professional instructors don't come calling first. Now that HBU will be competing at the D-1 level many of their players should get more than a passing glance from the MLB draft. This could turn Gossett's dream season into a dream job (with all due respect to ESPN).

Quite the season it was for the Husky faithful that were able to make the trip to Lewiston, Idaho. This year they have their sights set on a higher goal somewhere further to the south. If everything goes right HBU could earn a berth to the NCAA regional tournament this year. If such a situation unfolds then, as seen by the stat-line-packing-left-field-patrolling-base-stealing-machine named Greg Gossett, anything can happen.

Gossett's teammate, right-handed pitcher Brian Revels, a junior transfer from Crockett, TX, has a lot to look forward to in the coming season.  Revels played his entire high school career for the Crockett Bulldogs, where he was named Co-MVP and 1st Team All-District pitcher his senior season.  Upon graduation in 2003, he began his college career at Navarro College in Corsicana.  After one season with the Bulldogs, Revels transferred to Richland College in Dallas, before joining the Huskies at HBU.  He took a medical redshirt for the 2007 season, due to an elbow injury, but will begin his final two years of eligibility with HBU in 2008.  As a kinesiology and pedagogy major, Revels hopes to become a baseball coach when his playing days are over.  For now, look for him to continue to be an integral part of the HBU pitching staff, which has always been one of the program's strengths and one of the reasons, according to Revels, that the team was so successful last season.

Both Gossett and Revels are excited about the prospect of moving to the ultimate level of collegiate competition – NCAA Division I.  HBU was a member of the NCAA for more than 20 years but switched to the NAIA in the early 1990s.  The university’s athletic department currently boasts seven varsity level programs: men’s and women’s basketball, men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, softball, and volleyball.  The Huskies will be adding another seven teams, as required by the NCAA to compete as a member institution. 

Starting with the 2007-2008 season, these athletes will be competing among the best of the best in college sports, and The Athlete’s Connection wishes them the best of luck, as they continue on their respective paths to success.

Subscribe to this comment's feed