The College Baseball Foundation, which operates the National College Baseball Hall of Fame and awards various national honors including the Brooks Wallace Award to the nation’s best shortstop, held its annual First Pitch Luncheon on Tuesday at the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. The program featured Texas Tech Baseball Head Coach Tim Tadlock, Lubbock Christian University Head Coach Nathan Blackwood, and former Texas Tech All-American and current Texas Ranger Josh Jung.
In a pre-event media availability, Jung, the 8th overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, spoke at length about his time as a Red Raider and what this program has meant to him on his journey to reaching Major League Baseball near the end of the 2022 season.
“They [the coaching staff] helped me a lot when I was in school here, just helping develop me into the player I am. For them to be around and to have that really good relationship with them means everything to me. Because they came to a lot of games in Arlington and I had no idea, they just came to be fans, so it’s just super cool. It’s a lot of fun to just have those relationships and how they’re just ongoing, and throughout the season they’ll text me and joke with me. They kind of know when I need a little pick-me-up or I need a confidence boost, they kind of know how to navigate all of that and they’ll just send me a little text and it’s always fun to have that.”
Jung, who still lives in Lubbock with his brother Jace Jung, also spoke about how it feels to continue to be around the Texas Tech program.
“It’s truly super special. Because they open up everything for us to come in and work out, or hit, or even just practice with the guys. It’s super cool to still be around the atmosphere and guys ask you questions, and you do all kinds of stuff with the whole team and work in the weight room with the strength trainers, it’s a lot of fun. It’s truly special, the biggest thing is you don’t have to go pay to work out somewhere, you just go work out with the guys. You know you’re still a kid at heart and you hit next to a guy that’s 18 years old but, it’s like, we’re all ballplayers here.”
Jung famously homered in his first MLB at-bat, becoming only the second Ranger to ever accomplish that feat. Jung’s father Jeff later explained that as early as the age of 11, Josh spoke about wanting to make it to the MLB and hit a home run in his first at-bat.
WELCOME TO THE SHOW, JOSH JUNG! pic.twitter.com/An5aN9Cb5Z
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) September 10, 2022
But the less-heralded moment was homering in his first professional at-bat back in 2019 in rookie ball at the Arizona Complex League, and it was brought to us by Tim Tadlock, who was in attendance.
Wanted to share this with Red Raider Nation. First professional at bat for @josh6jung #WreckEm pic.twitter.com/NSLAfMpkhl
— Tim Tadlock (@TimTadlockTTU) July 11, 2019
Jung was asked today about his relationship with Tadlock and how that has changed as he’s moved into a professional career.
“I would say he leans on me for some advice sometimes. In college it was more, you’re the player he’s the coach, but now he’ll be like ‘Hey, what are your thoughts on this, what are your thoughts on this? The way you train, why to you do that?’ So he asks me a lot of questions and it’s kind of fun just to have that kind of dialog with your old coach and to just help the university get better.”
During the Q&A portion of the event, moderated by College Baseball Foundation President & CEO Dr. Mike Gustafson, Jung expressed thankfulness in coming into a season fully healthy after dealing with a foot injury and a shoulder injury in consecutive seasons. He also recounted his favorite moments as a Red Raider, particularly the 2019 Super Regional win over Oklahoma State and hitting a home run in his final at-bat in Lubbock.
The program began with the presentation of the Kal Segrist Award, named for its inaugural recipient and former Texas Tech Baseball Head Coach Kal Segrist. The annual award honors an individual who has made significant contributions to baseball at all levels as a volunteer, coach, and through other avenues. This year’s recipient was Curtis Alexander, a long-time youth coach and high school and college umpire entering his 42nd season calling games.
In addition to Jung, other recent former players were in attendance as well including Cameron Warren, Braxton Fulford, and Brian Klein. Fulford, a 6th-round pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, is playing in the Colorado Rockies organization and recently received a non-roster invitation to Spring Training. Klein, who signed a free agent deal with the Washington Nationals in 2020, recently signed to play with the independent Cleburne Railroaders for an opportunity to play every day and showcase his abilities. And Warren, a 22nd-round pick by the Cincinnati Reds in 2019, completed his master’s degree at Texas Tech in May of 2021 and is working as the Associate Director of Development for the Red Raider Club.
Fans can keep up with all of Texas Tech Baseball’s current pro players here: All Active Pro Players
