When the Oklahoma Sooners shocked most of the college baseball world by winning the College World Series Monday night in Omaha, Dylan Champagne was on a bus somewhere in the middle of Texas. But he was watching. And he was imagining.
Champagne, who is coming off a stellar season for Jones College, is playing third base and catching for the Baton Rouge Rougarou this summer. But a few weeks ago he committed to play baseball for Oklahoma. So Monday night he was dreaming of his own trip to Omaha.
“It was crazy,” the Prairieville native and Dutchtown graduate said. “It’s weird to think that that’s where I ended up going. They got so high. They won the whole thing and maybe I get to go experience it. I was kind of wondering, what if I went one year earlier.”
Champagne (who pronounces his name the Cajun way, not the French way) earned his ticket to Oklahoma as a true freshman at Jones, where he started in all 59 games, playing shortstop, third base and catcher. And he certainly put himself on the baseball map, leading his team with 78 hits, 21 doubles and a .384 batting average. He also had four home runs, 48 RBIs and 45 runs and, at one point, had a 16-game hit streak going.
His stellar play got him interest from several programs, including Tulane, Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech and Arkansas State, but Champagne formed a bond with Oklahoma coach Todd Butler.
“What got me to Jones was the coaches,” Champagne said. “We really hit it off. Whenever I got in the portal and was talking to a bunch of coaches, the only one that really stood out was Coach Todd Butler at Oklahoma. Butler loves Louisiana guys, he loves Juco guys from Mississippi. Me talking to him made me feel the same way I felt about Jones.”
Watching the team go from near the bottom of the rankings to National Champions only solidified Champagne’s choice.
“I committed before the regionals,” he said. “Everybody was saying how they haven’t been too good. They got hot at the right moment. It’s cool to see how the team came together, how much of a family they are. They put their trust in each other. I want to be a part of something like that.”
Champagne and his parents Michael and Jenny are only a little worried about the culture shock he will face.
“Coach Butler said he was going to put some crawfish in the locker room for me,” Champagne said.
For now, Champagne is enjoying his time as a Rougarou. He had attended several games over the last few summers and imagined himself on this team as well.
“I saw the way they were signing autographs for the little kids and talking to people,” he said. “They were really having fun. The crowd was there. It was just cool. Everything I ever wanted was there. For summer ball, there’s nothing like that.”
The Rougarou have struggled early this season, but Champagne, who is hitting .222 with nine RBIs, said the team is coming around.
“I’m trying to get my confidence up before going to Oklahoma and seeing some really good pitching,” he said. “It’s been hard recently. We’ve been struggling with the bats. We haven’t played a full game of our best baseball. That is to come.”
“Dylan definitely has the tools to play at a high level,” Rougarou coach Mike Forbes said. “Throughout his career he has learned to play multiple positions, which makes him an asset to anyone. Couple that with the ability to hit for power and average and you have a guy that can be an everyday starter for a lot of programs. He will be a fun player to watch in the next few years at Oklahoma.”
By Lori Lyons, Rougarou Writer
Photo by Cat Solenburg