Drew Vogel is living out his dream. “I can’t believe I am so lucky to be able to do this,” he says after a day of baseball scrimmaging in the Florida heat. “It’s going to take a while for me to get used to this.” 

Sent to West Palm at the end of July and onto Fayetteville on August 5th, Drew (2020 White House High graduate) is now a professional baseball player. He spends his days training and playing the sport he loves for the Astros single A affiliate team, the Fayetteville Woodpeckers.

 How did Drew get here? Hard work, yes. Intentional focus on his craft, yes. Sinking his entire identity into the sport, No. “A nice balance is important,” he says, “I tried to keep my mind away from what may happen and focus on the present.”  

 May 25^th brought a new present. Drew was done with college baseball. At that point he knew he had a month and a half to sit around and wait for a franchise to draft him or not. “So, I was definitely making a Plan B,” he says. He spent those few weeks interviewing for jobs in Nashville, ready for whatever would come next.

 What came was every pee wee player’s dream—getting paid to play baseball.

“Playing professional baseball was never something I thought I could do,” says Drew. “When I went to college, I was working to get a college education through the sport.”

The game had more in mind for Drew.

“Drew has always had a love for the game since a very young age,” recounts his parents, Jason and Lisa Vogel. His cleats have scuffed bases since he was 4 years old. “We wanted him to earn playing time and always played him up in the older age group,” Lisa adds. “Drew liked the challenge and always put the work in to fight for a spot.”

 The fighting spirit served Drew well throughout his years at White House High School. “I started succeeding my junior year and so I set my expectations high on playing in college,” he says.

Graduating in 2020, Drew entered Murray State with a baseball scholarship where he continued to perfect his craft. “This is what I’ve been working for my whole life,” Drew recounts, “baseball and school.”

“I remember being nervous about him going to play college ball and getting wrapped up in different things,” says his sister, Alivia. “He did not take the opportunity lightly, though. Drew kept focused and soaked up everything he could. I have no doubt he is going to bring that same drive and mindset to where he is now.”

Drew’s now is scuffing that dirt diamond, absorbing every minute of play time, and staying grounded in gratitude and perspective.

“No matter how much talent you have, if you work hard enough, I really truly believe anyone can get better,” he says. “You don’t know what your limit is.”