Go For it

RT Staff Note: Toby Gerhart has done it successfully and it seems more players want to make the most of their collegiate sports experience...

TCU's Kerley is thinking about baseball

By Graham Watson
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- TCU’s leading receiver and star punt and kickoff returner Jeremy Kerley is already looking to life after the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl -- a life that he hopes includes a ball and a bat.

Kerley said this week that after the football season ends, he wants to walk on to TCU’s baseball team. Kerley played baseball in high school and said that walking on was his goal when he got to TCU. But the past two years, the junior has spent the offseason trying to keep his grades up and remain eligible for football.

“I’d like to play this, year and if not this year, maybe my senior year. It’s up for grabs,” said Kerley, who leads the Horned Frogs with 467 receiving yards and has two punt returns for touchdowns. “I love baseball. That’s my first love.”

Kerley said he’d like to be a pitcher, but he’s also open to playing center field. He was a pitcher and shortstop in high school.

Kerley said he has a 94 mph fastball and also has a curveball and knuckleball that could probably use some more development. He said he never had to use those pitches at Hutto High School in Texas.

TCU’s baseball team is one of the best in the country. Last season, it had the most successful season in school history with a 40-18 record. It went to the NCAA Super Regional and finished ranked No. 11 in the country.

“I’ve talked to the coach about walking onto the team, but right now it’s just talks,” Kerley said. “Coach [Gary] Patterson is cool with it. That was one of the things we talked about when I first came here. Hopefully, after the season we can make it final.”