‘The working world can wait.’ TCU’s Gene Wood focused on extending playing days
Gene Wood believed his baseball days were over following last season.
He closed an injury-plagued career at Alabama by batting just .111 in 16 games, and thought the business world awaited him. Wood headed to Nashville last summer for an internship with UBS, an investment banking company.
But Wood didn’t need long to realize he wasn’t ready to call it quits on his playing days. The baseball itch returned after one of his friends and former teammates, Brock Love, left the same internship after being drafted in the 34th round by the Miami Marlins of last year’s MLB Draft.
“I was up there for a couple of days by myself and I was like, ‘Well, I’ve got one more left in me,’” Wood said.
It’s worked out for Wood and TCU so far.
Wood has been one of the early-season surprises for a Horned Frogs team that is off to a 6-1 start going into tonight’s game against Stephen F. Austin. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. at Lupton Stadium.
Count on Wood serving as the team’s right fielder and cleanup hitter as he’s done the first seven games. He’s batting .364 with a team-leading three home runs and six RBIs through seven games. His 1.318 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) is the best on the team too.
Those are impressive numbers for any player, but particularly Wood. This is a guy who had just one home run and 12 RBIs in 76 career games at Alabama.
“This is a start I can’t even imagine,” Wood said. “It’s just a blessing to be here, this being my last college year. I think I just have a different approach. At Bama, I was hurt so I put a lot of pressure on myself. But to have the opportunity here? I want to make the most of it.”
The early signs are encouraging for Wood, who feels his healthiest in years. The summer off helped him mentally and physically.
At Alabama, Wood had his sophomore season cut short with a torn medial patellofemeral ligament (MPFL), which holds the kneecap in place.
“When I was swinging, my back foot didn’t rotate,” Wood said.
Wood then injured his shoulder in the fall of his junior year, an injury he tried to play through but ultimately required surgery. And he simply struggled last year.
But, because Wood played just three games in 2018, he obtained a medical redshirt giving him one more year of eligibility this season.
Wood opted for a fresh start when he decided to delay his business future and continue his playing days. He threw his name in the NCAA transfer portal to see what sort of interest he may generate.
“I put my name in the portal, nothing against Alabama, I loved my time there, but I wanted to see what would happen,” Wood said.
What happened was TCU associate head coach Bill Mosiello getting in contact with Wood. Mosiello liked the film Wood sent his way and it’s been a good fit for both sides since.
Wood has rediscovered his power stroke that made him a highly-touted prospect coming out of Jackson Preparatory School in Mississippi. Wood was teammates in high school with Jake Mangum, who set the SEC all-time hits record during his career at Mississippi State.
“If you talk to their high school coach, Gene and Jake were very similar,” TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle said. “So if we can keep Gene healthy the whole season, I think he’ll put together a great year.”
Wood has been pleased with his hot start, but is mindful of not “chasing” home runs going forward. He feels he is more of a doubles-power hitter than a home run hitter.
As Wood joked, he’s become a big fan of the North Texas wind in his short time at TCU.
“I’ve been telling people I love the Texas wind,” Wood said, smiling. “I’m a very simple guy when it comes to hitting. I just think about hitting up the middle or maybe even opposite gap. If you try to get pull happy or hit home runs, you’ll end up hurting yourself. I have to stay simple.”
Wood hopes to keep that mindset for years to come. He’s all-in on extending his playing days as long as possible.
“The working world will always be there for me,” Wood said. “I want to play as long as I can.”
Ray honored
TCU right-hander Johnny Ray was named the Big 12’s pitcher of the week on Monday.
Ray, a redshirt sophomore, threw a complete-game shutout in leading TCU to a 12-0 victory over Minnesota on Saturday. He retired 21 consecutive batters at one point.
