Bryan's Noah Heninger helping leave a legacy for future Vikings

Bryan shortstop Noah Heninger admits he didn't grow up a Vikings fan and honestly can't remember going to any high school baseball games before he started high school himself.

The senior and team captain is doing his part, though, to help the next generation and make some new Bryan fans along the way.

"All the memories I've made have definitely been ones I'll never forget and just trying to leave an impact here is my biggest goal," Heninger said.

After a three-year playoff absence, Heninger and his teammates have brought back playoff baseball to Bryan.

"I think it was important especially my senior year to kind of leave that as a stepping stone for the guys next year, that's a goal that they want to strive to go even farther than we did," Heninger said. "That's always been a goal of mine and I didn't get to be a part of it up until this year."

The Vikings opened the playoffs Wednesday night in a game that finished after press time at No. 7 Waxahachie in a best-of-three Class 6A Division I bi-district series. Game 2 of the series is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Viking Field.

If necessary, Game 3 of the series is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Waco Live Oak.

"Obviously, hope to go as far as we can this year and it's something that since I was imagining playing varsity baseball that I wanted to do and now I'm here," Heninger said.

Heninger's had a lot of time to imagine it as he's been playing baseball since he says he was 8 or 9 years old, and even earlier at the T-ball level.

He played a lot of sports growing up from football to basketball to soccer, but baseball was the one he fell in love with more than the others. For Heninger, baseball was the sport he and his dad kept playing in the backyard more than the others.

And just like he quickly fell in love with the sport, the same could be said for playing in the infield. Heninger says what he likes so much about shortstop is the leadership that comes with it and the high standard it requires.

"I just like to be able to kind of command the field and [have] other people look to you when they've got questions or just listen whenever I need to say something to get us going," Heninger said. "I feel like shortstop is kind of the leader on the field and I fit that position pretty well."

Bryan fourth-year head coach Justin Garcia would agree when it comes to Heninger being a vocal leader.

"He's a competitor whether it's in the weightroom, classroom, they're playing pickup basketball, whatever it is, you can hear him on the court or the field," Garcia said with a laugh.

He called up Heninger to varsity as a sophomore during the district slate and he's been there ever since. Garcia says Heninger's competitiveness is what earned him the call up to varsity.

"I saw that from him as a young kid as a sophomore," Garcia said. "He's lived up to every bit of it."

Heninger has been a starter for the last two years and is a first-year team captain along with fellow seniors Wyatt Bryan and Colman Henton.

And while Heninger's already helping the next generation at Bryan, his post-Vikings career also could do the same as he recently committed to TCS Post Grad, a one-year post-graduate baseball program located in Melissa designed to develop athletes for college-level competition without affecting NCAA eligibility.

"Being able to compete and show myself that I have the talent to go up into the next level means a lot," he said. "I think to my parents, too, showing the dedication that they put in to me is something I can give back to them showing that y'all put time into me and I'm going to make it count.

"It's a blessing I'm very grateful to get to keep playing this game, not everybody does and not very many people on this team get to say that they get to play again. But I'm just very grateful I get to go up and play again next year."

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