Abilene Wylie’s Caleb Munton signs with Texas State baseball

Wylie catcher Caleb Munton signed with Texas State baseball Wednesday morning at Bulldog Gym.

Munton verbally committed to the Bobcats 13 months ago, but made it official by signing his national letter of intent during the early signing period. Still, his decision had more impact when he put pen to paper.

“It makes it feel more real,” Munton said. “Because when I verbally committed, it was such a long time ago, Texas State was just kind of a distant thought in the future. But now it’s real and I’m excited to be there now.”

Wylie head coach Clay Martin played college baseball with Caleb's father, Dan, at Hardin-Simmons and has watched his former teammate's son put in the hard work to get to this point.

“Caleb is a great baseball player, he’s spent an unbelievable amount of time perfecting his craft and we all know that,” Martin said. “I think more important than that, Caleb’s a great leader and a great kid, one that it’s been a joy for me to coach.”

The Bobcats last season went 30-28-1 and reached the Sub Belt Conference tournament semifinals. Texas State also played several top Division I teams close during the season, including a one-run losses to Oklahoma State and Texas along with two-run losses to Rice and Texas A&M.

The Bobcats also beat Rice and Baylor.

When Munton made his visit, the Texas State program felt right.

“Everything about the program was amazing,” Munton said. “From their weightlifting to how they play the game to how they do nutrition to how they act off the field, everything about them I really liked. I thought a lot of it fit my personality well.”

The two catchers listed on Texas State's 2019 roster are both seniors, opening a door for Munton to get some playing time right away, either behind the plate or at the plate as designated hitter.

“I think I can go in and have some playing time freshman year,” Munton said. “Hopefully make a name for myself as soon as I get there.”

Munton was a backup during his freshman year, but has been the starter for the past two and will be again this spring. Having stability and talent at catcher is a luxury for coaches and the team.

“Any time you have a catcher of Caleb’s abilities and knowledge of the game, obviously, it’s a huge plus,” Martin said. “The fact that we’ve been able to do that for three year, it’s unbelievable the advantage that is as a coach to have a guy that can hold down that position, especially for a number of years.”

Being a part of two state championship teams and a playoff run last year is something Munton will learn from and carry with him into his senior year and collegiate career.

“I think it really taught me what a good team is,” Munton said. “Not just a physically good team that can hit, but the bonds that we had and how we played for each other and not for ourselves. I think being on those state championship teams really painted a good picture of that and what a good team should look like.”

Over the years, Martin has sent numerous players to play at the next level. The day his players sign to continue their careers and education is a memorable one.

“This is always a special day,” Martin said. “Always a situation where these guys get a chance to play baseball after (their senior) year, you can’t be more proud for them and of them. It’s just a great situation.”

Munton has been part of two Class 4A state championship teams and will be a key piece to Wylie’s move to Class 5A this season.

“We’re going up a division, but I still firmly believe we’ll have a great team this year,” Munton said. “I think we can still make another run in the playoffs. But I’m really looking forward to the last year of friendships.”