Ace Performer
College Park’s Trahan is beast on the mound
Mackenzie Malatesta
Dec 19, 2017, 9:03 am
Originally appeared on Vype.com.
Stealing the headlines at College Park has been super-hooper Quentin Grimes, who is committed to Kansas. As the basketball season moves into baseball, the Cavs have another star in Luke Trahan. The 6-foot-3 pitcher is one of the top aces in the city and makes College Park a tough opponent in the competitive District 12-6A.
VYPE caught up with Trahan before the season. Getting the inside scoop on the talented righty.
VYPE: When did you realize you could make a career out of baseball?
Trahan: I realized it at Orwall at 12 years-old, when I had a leg up on everyone else. I hit 75 mph and hit most of the home runs.
VYPE: What are the goals for your team in the upcoming season?
Trahan: We need to grow as a team, so that we don’t fall short or get out early in the playoffs like the two previous years. The ultimate team goal is to go to state and I feel we have all the tools to do that. The pitching, fielding and hitting all needs to come together as one for us to be confident in the playoffs.
VYPE: Where do you think you will be playing in the field this year?
Trahan: Sophomore year, I started at third base and moved to right field junior year. This year I am going to play wherever they need me to lead my team. I’ll be the ace of our pitching staff.
VYPE: What was your most memorable moment in your baseball career at College Park so far?
Trahan: During sophomore year Kingwood, College Park and The Woodlands were at a three-way tie to be in the playoffs. I went in to pitch with bases loaded last inning. I struck out the last batter to win the game and secured our spot in playoffs.
VYPE: What led up to you committing to Dallas Baptist University?
Trahan: I went to DBU to play in a showcase with my travel team—Twelve baseball. I pitched one inning before it got rained out and the DBU recruiting coordinator invited me to come to team practice. I fell in love with campus and how welcoming the other players there. Also DBU has done very well in the past and I think I can be a part of helping them improve and ultimately get to Omaha for the College World Series. I’m very excited to go there and grow my relationship with Christ and grow as a baseball player. Coach Heefner and Coach Fitzgerald are amazing and know the game very well as well as Coach McCarty improving me individually as a pitcher.
VYPE: What is it like playing with your twin brother?
Trahan: I always pitch better with him behind the plate, he knows what I want and I know what he wants. Our connection is unmatched. I don’t know if he will play baseball in college but I believe he wants to.
VYPE: What is something no one knows about you?
Trahan: I love to fish I started when I was young with my grandpa, and now it just brings back the good memories with my family.
Mackenzie Malatesta is a student at The Woodlands High School and a part of the VYPE U Internship Program. To learn more about how you can become a VYPE U Intern, click here!
The Houston Texans are entering the 2025 NFL Draft with a roster on the rise and a franchise quarterback in C.J. Stroud—but what happens next is anything but certain.
Draft experts are calling this year’s class one of the most difficult to project, especially in the back half of the first round, where opinions on prospects vary widely. For the Texans, who hold the No. 25 overall pick, this presents both opportunity and risk. With no glaring positional holes but several areas in need of long-term upgrades, Houston’s approach will provide insight into how the front office views its roster—and, more specifically, how it plans to protect its most valuable asset: Stroud.
Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, second only to Chicago's Caleb Williams. That reality underscores the Texans’ top priority heading into the draft: fortifying the offensive line. How they do that could reveal what they truly think of tackle Blake Fisher and whether Tytus Howard’s future lies at guard or tackle.
A number of linemen are on the Texans’ radar for their first-round pick, including Alabama interior mauler Tyler Booker, versatile North Dakota State tackle Gray Zabel, and Oregon’s athletic pass protector Josh Conerly. Texas standout Kelvin Banks and Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson also bring physicality and pedigree, while Josh Simmons of Ohio State is a long-term project coming off a torn patellar tendon.
Still, wide receiver is the other major position of interest. If Houston opts to go wideout in the first round, names like Arizona’s Tet McMillan, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka, Missouri’s Luther Burden, and Texas' Matthew Golden offer a blend of polish, upside, and explosiveness.
A best-case scenario? The Texans land an offensive lineman in the first round and then leverage their extra third-round pick to trade up for a sliding receiver like Burden early in the second. That would give Houston immediate trench help and another weapon for Stroud without having to choose between the two priorities.
No matter what direction the Texans go, this year’s draft is set to be the most unpredictable of the Stroud era. And that might be just how Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans like it.
We have so much more to cover. Don't miss the video below as the crew from Texans on Tap discusses all the topics above and much more!
And be sure to watch our live reaction to the Texans' first round pick this Thursday night on our SportsMap Texans YouTube channel!
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