Taylor Stell got a lot of attention for his athletic accomplishments and ability to make an impact while he played for the Lake Highlands Wildcats, and now he’s getting noticed by folks who follow UT Longhorns baseball, too. Taylor is technically a “walk-on,” since he didn’t receive an athletic scholarship when he joined the team, but the recruiting analysts at Orangebloods are calling his chances of making a significant impact in the coming season 80%.
“It appears like the Horns might have struck gold in Stell,” writes Dustin McComas. “At 6-4, Stell could be the fastest position player on the team, has the ability to emerge as a strong defensive player, and has impressed Texas with his bat…Evidently, this freshman lives at the baseball field putting in tons of extra time, and is winning over the people that matter…he still has a lot of work to do offensively, but it’s safe to say he’s surprised a lot of people on the UT campus in a good way.”
People in Lake Highlands are finished being surprised by Taylor Stell.
Taylor was a dandy football player, but after his sophomore year he focused on his true love – baseball. Then as a senior, he joined his friends and tried out for the basketball team. By the end of the season, he was named 1st Team All District and voted Newcomer of the Year.
Baseball season closed out his senior year, and he was captain of the team, City MVP, 1st Team All District and Academic All State. His combined high school batting average was .471.
“My biggest surprise at UT has been how well the freshmen [on the team] are treated by the upperclassmen,” Taylor told me. “They told us the first day that they knew we could help them win a national championship, so we were viewed as equals.”
“My biggest challenge has definitely been time management,” said Taylor. “The academics are pretty tough and we put in lots of hours on the field.” And he admits he misses seeing his LH friends, many of who went off to colleges all around the country.
“The best thing about being a Longhorn is the atmosphere of the fans down here. They are extremely passionate and make it that much more fun to go out there and give it your all.”
Taylor will have a chance to prove the Orangebloods scouts right when the season begins February 17th with a three game home stand against Duke. They’ll then fly to California to play Stanford. Hook ‘em, Taylor!
