Long before sophomore outfielder and Abilene native Braden Regala was standing in the outfield of Crutcher Scott Field with his Little League teammates, he didn’t even know if he wanted to play college baseball. Now, he is a starter for the Wildcats, inspiring the next generation.

Regala grew up wanting to play soccer in college, but as he got older he fell more in love with baseball, the team aspect of it, and playing on both sides of the ball and realized he wanted to play college baseball.

After this realization, the question of where he would play then arose for him. With no Division I offers, he turned to the head coach of the Division I baseball program in his hometown of Abilene, Rick McCarty.

McCarty was no stranger to Regala on and off the baseball field. McCarty said he watched him play high school football on Friday nights at Wylie High School while watching his daughter, who is a year younger than Regala, be a cheerleader.

He also added that his son played Little League baseball with Regala’s younger brother, Dylan, and made it to the Little League World Series.

“There’s a lot of crossover with family, community, events and all those things,” McCarty said. “I’ve gotten to see Braden for eight years now. So just to watch him mature has been pretty neat.”

Once Regala discovered ACU and McCarty’s culture, he fell in love with it, and he knew he wanted to grow his faith at ACU and become a better baseball player.

At 5-foot-8, Regala is undersized for his position compared to the typical Division I outfielder. He has not let this stop him.

“I kind of use it as motivation,” he said. “Just to also speak to other kids that are younger that size doesn’t really matter in baseball. You can achieve your goals, no matter how big or small you are.”

Despite Regala’s size, McCarty said he has a lot of things going for him, including being a switch hitter, his speed and his short game defensively.

When Regala arrived for his freshman season, he was not the only former Wylie Bulldog on the roster. Fellow outfielder Reese Borho, a year older than Regala, had already been on the roster for a year.

In his freshman campaign, Regala stood out as the team’s starting center fielder, batting .295, leading the team in stolen bases with 29, recording an on-base percentage of .342 and earning the No. 3 spot on a SportsCenter Top 10 for a diving catch against Dallas Baptist.

McCarty said off the field, Regala checks all the boxes and represents the team well in the community.

“He’s got this smile,” he said. “He’s one of those guys when you walk in the room, the temperature kind of goes up because he’s just got a good personality.”

After his freshman season, he and Borho were joined by another former Bulldog, senior infielder JT Thompson. Thompson joined the Wildcats after two seasons at Ranger College and one season at Rutgers.

From Little League baseball to varsity football, it has been a long time coming for these three to play together at the collegiate level.

Borho, who committed to ACU a year before Regala, knew they would be playing together at ACU, but it was a pleasant surprise when Thompson called Borho last summer to tell him he was coming back to Abilene.

Regala recalls the first time all three of them played together was his sophomore year of high school when they were on the varsity football team together at Wylie.

“That was kind of the first time we were all three together,” Regala said. “That kind of carried over into baseball and started building a tighter bond to each other.”

One moment the trio had this year was when all three were in the outfield together and created an “all Wylie outfield,” as Regala called it.

Thompson said it was awesome not only for them but for their parents, who have known each other for years.

“My mom comes up to me after the game and hugs me,” he said. “She shows me a picture as soon as the game’s over, and we’re all dancing in the outfield after a win. Like it should be. All the Wylie boys.”

Another full-circle moment these three had this season was when the Wylie Little League came to Bullock Brothers Ballpark for a night of practice with the Wildcats.

Thompson described it as a déjà vu moment for them growing up in Abilene, going to ACU games and wanting to play for the Wildcats.

“It’s awesome to leave an impact on those kids,” Regala said. “Just driving around being from Abilene, it’s nice to go to a restaurant and see one of those kids and they remember your name. Just getting to talk to them and encourage them and be a role model for them. It’s pretty neat.”