London & Calallen Baseball Seasons Recognized
CORPUS CHRISTI – Kevin Carr and Albert Amaya, who led London to the Class 3A Division I baseball state championship, and Joe Luis Lopez and Steve Chapman, who marshalled Calallen to the Class 4A Division I state title, will be hailed as 2025 South Texas Baseball Coaches of the Year
CORPUS CHRISTI – Kevin Carr and Albert Amaya, who led London to the Class 3A Division I baseball state championship, and Joe Luis Lopez and Steve Chapman, who marshalled Calallen to the Class 4A Division I state title, will be hailed as 2025 South Texas Baseball Coaches of the Year on Thursday, January 15 at the Hilliard Center’s Henry Garrett Ballroom.
Corpus Christi native, Team USA member, and Banana Ball coach Valerie Perez headlines the 20th South Texas Softball and Baseball Winter Banquet, presented by Whataburger. Call 361-561-HOOK (4665) for tickets.
Forging its fifth consecutive trip to the state tournament last June, London won 14 in a row to capture the school’s second baseball state title. The Pirates went 35-6 on the year, including playoff victories over West Oso, Raymondville, Goliad, Falfurrias, and Huntington to reach Round Rock.
London came back to beat Texarkana Liberty-Eylau, 4-3, in the championship bout. Senior Ethan Ortega was voted MVP after pitching five strong innings to earn his 10th win of the season. Senior Zak Garcia cemented the crown by retiring all six batters he faced, striking out three, to earn the save.
Junior catcher Christian Olivares, sophomore shortstop Aiden Salinas, and sophomore outfielders Zach Tyrone and JJ Villegas were also named to the all-tourney team.
Prior to their one-run triumph in the 3A Division I title game, the Pirates had won all nine of their postseason games by a combined 96-12 margin.
Amaya & Carr, who led the Pirates to the state crown in 2022, have been honored at three of the past four winter banquets. In 2025, the tandem was assisted by Trey Salinas, John Harris, and JR Galvan.
After falling in the 4A Division I title game last year, Calallen Baseball completed its fourth championship campaign by going 35-2 in 2025. The Wildcats ran the table in 31-4A with their lone setbacks of the season coming in one-run fashion to Bishop and San Antonio Reagan.
Headed by juniors Collier Carroll and Drayton Mitchell and seniors Hayden Brock, Cody Andrade, and Chase Lynch, the Calallen pitching staff engineered 16 shutouts, blanking district foes in seven of eight contests. Meanwhile, Wildcat hitters posted double-digit runs in over half of their games.
En route to the program’s 14th appearance in the state baseball tournament, Calallen won all nine postseason match-ups, including a 5-3 win over Texarkana Pleasant Grove in the title game. Mitchell was named state championship MVP after allowing two earned runs in six innings to finish 2025 with a 10-0 record. The standout junior also hit .404 on the season with 44 runs, 19 extra-base hits, and 13 stolen bases.
Lopez and Chapman garnered winter banquet acclaim last season after guiding the Wildcats to 37 triumphs and a runner-up finish. Chapman is Texas High School Baseball’s winningest coach as the four-time state champion has amassed 1,215 victories over a 43-year career at Calallen.
Calallen’s 2025 coaching staff was completed by Rey Cardona, Brent Gamez, Mark Medina, and Daniel Zapata.
Read More about banquet award winners: