Stacey makes the team

Earns spot on BYU baseball squad as walk-on

Former Del Norte Warrior Travis Stacey runs the basepaths during a game against Eureka last spring. Stacey, a freshman at BYU in Provo, Utah, has made the Cougars baseball team as a walk-on, one of only two that made the squad out of 60 contenders. Stacey will play third base for the Cougars. Del Norte Triplicate/Bryant Anderson

The Cougars had whittled the competition from 60 participants trying to make the team to only a few.

Stacey gave it his all at each practice, knowing that one subpar performance could mean the end.

Born and raised in Del Norte County and a 2011 Warrior graduate, Stacey was one of the remaining few left standing. The freshman was ready to hear his fate when he met his coach.

TRAVIS STACEY

“Going into this thing I felt that if I didn’t make the team that it would be OK because I knew I left it all on the field,” he said during a phone interview with the Triplicate. “I was determined to show my skills and just play my game.”

Law was a major league player for 14 years. He played third base and made the 1988 All-Star game as a member of the Chicago Cubs.

The old pro told Stacey the news he wanted to hear  –– he had made the squad.

“I was so happy,” Stacey said about what he called one of the biggest moments of his life. “I was so stoked ... He (Law) told me ‘you have a lot of potential.’”

It’s interesting to have a former big-leaguer as the head coach, Stacey said.

“He was a good ball player,” he said. “At first it was intimidating. He doesn’t say much. He just watches you play.”

He learned that when Law gives a compliment, “it’s huge.” So when Law told him he had potential, it meant a lot.

Stacey, who played a variety of positions in high school, including third base, first base and pitcher, made the Cougars as a third baseman.

He played baseball, basketball and soccer in high school, and showed a lot of grit his senior year at Del Norte.

During basketball season he broke his right wrist and was expected to miss a good chunk of the baseball season. Stacey went to work to be ready for the season. While he had to wear a wrist brace, he did not miss any time.

Only one other walk-on made the BYU baseball team, a pitcher, who was on the team as a freshman but had to walk-on again after coming back from a two-year church mission.

During practices, Stacey was impressed with the commitment and skill of those on the team.

While battling for a spot as a walk-on, Stacey talked about how great his new teammates have been to him.

“They have been super-nice to me,” he said. A few team members gave him advice on what the coaches were looking for, and encouragement.

“I already feel like part of the family,” he said.

When Stacey found out he had made the squad, he and his friends celebrated with a favorite meal of his, french toast and ice cream.

It was good, but Stacey said the best is his mom’s home cooking, which he misses.

Currently third string at third base, his goal is to contribute any way he can to the team and hopefully earn some playing time.

The Cougars open the baseball season in February.

BYU, a Division 1 school known for having strong academics and sports teams, should be quite familiar to Warrior fans.

Former Del Norte Warrior football standout Cody Hoffman is a starting wideout and kick returner on the football team.

Stacey knew Cody in high school and said he currently is in a biology class with him.

“I tell people that Cody Hoffman went to my high school and they go, ‘no way,’” he said.

Travis is not the only Stacey who will be playing college sports at the four-year level.

His sister, Michelle Stacey, a three-sport standout at Del Norte High and a 2009 graduate, recently joined the softball team at BYU-Hawaii as a junior.

She played the past two years on the softball squad at College of the Redwoods in Eureka.

Over the summer, Travis Stacey and three other former Warriors, Layton O’Reilley,  Barrett McClaflin and Zach Hegelmeyer, were members of the Eureka Sluggers baseball team, an under-19 summer ball group that faced top competition.

Stacey said the experience helped him expand his skills and prepare him for trying out for the BYU baseball team.

“It definitely helped me get myself up to that level,” Stacey said.

He said he is thankful for all his coaches for supporting him and helping him become a better player. And he thanked his dad,  Bruce Stacey, for believing in him and teaching him to always push himself and never to give up on his dreams.