MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Days are long for Memphis Tigers third baseman Alec Trela.
“There’s some day when you get back and you have a game on the road, three hours travel back, but you still have homework at 11 o’clock at night,” said Trela.
The Biomedical Engineering major entered this year on the Preseason All-Conference team, all while maintaining nearly a 4.0 GPA.
“It’s kind just like a switch, you know, you have to play the student one minute and then you have to play the athlete the next.”
On the field, Trela has the most runs so far this season for the Tigers with 21, and is second on the team in hits, RBIs and home runs.
On top of that, he’s been named a national finalist for the Senior CLASS Award for his outstanding performance in the classroom.
“It could be real easy to get caught up in your performance as an athlete for your four years here instead of thinking about the next 40, 50 years in the workforce. It’s kind of being able to separate those both and have fun in the game, but also take your class work seriously.”
Trela credits his success to his massive support system in both academics and athletics.
“Coach [Schoenrock] is honestly like one of the best support systems you can ask for, you know. He’s always there listening to you. If you say, ‘hey I got to be late because of class, this, that, or the other,’ he’s always been extremely accepting of that and then before I even visited campus, one of the main reasons I kind of came to Memphis was Dr. Joel Bumgardner in Biomedical Engineering. He was really excited about getting me on campus and knew that it was able to be done.”
This is Trela’s second senior season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
A starter since his freshman season, Trela has started every game, 220 straight since stepping foot on campus back in 2017.
In his final year as a Tiger, he’s clinging to moments he’ll treasure forever.
“That was one of those things where I had to go home and evaluate like what do you want your end of your baseball career to be? I think that sort of helped me cherish my time here and my time with the guys. So, I feel like I spend a lot more time this year getting to know guys on a more personal level, but then also trying to be more like a calming senior voice.”
Trela and the Tigers host Tulane Saturday at 4 p.m.
