TCU

TCU Frogs receive commitment from Chicago baseball/football standout

TCU received an oral commitment Friday from Chicago Mount Carmel baseball and football standout Alek Thomas. Thomas has said he wanted to choose a school where he had a chance to play both sports. His father is director of conditioning for the Chicago White Sox.
TCU received an oral commitment Friday from Chicago Mount Carmel baseball and football standout Alek Thomas. Thomas has said he wanted to choose a school where he had a chance to play both sports. His father is director of conditioning for the Chicago White Sox. TNS

Chicago Mount Carmel three-sport star Alek Thomas announced Friday on Twitter that he was committing to the TCU Horned Frogs “to continue my academic, baseball and football career!”

Thomas, a 5-foot-10, 170-pound junior who would be part of the class of 2018, played quarterback in football for Mount Carmel and according to a Chicago Tribune story “is regarded as one of the most gifted baseball players in the Midwest.”

As a sophomore outfielder, Thomas — who hits and throws left-handed — batted .394 with seven doubles, five triples and 10 home runs.

He also plays basketball. According to the Tribune story, his father, Allen Thomas, was a four-sport star, adding track and field, at Freedom High School in North Carolina.

Allen Thomas has been the director of strength and conditioning for the Chicago White Sox for 13 years. An MLB.com story detailed how Alek is trained by his dad.

“The colleges I’m considering are willing to let me play two sports,” Thomas told the Tribune. “I want to give it a try.” He plans on majoring in engineering.

Being drafted after his high school days and turning pro sounds like an option.

“He’s a special, unique athlete,” Allen Thomas told MLB.com. “I look at him on the field as an athlete and not as a son. I’ve always tried to separate.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2017 at 11:45 PM with the headline "TCU Frogs receive commitment from Chicago baseball/football standout."

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