‘He’s nicknamed Nails for a reason.’ TCU baseball’s Byrne enjoying a breakout season
Nails.
Kurtis Byrne has earned that nickname from his TCU baseball teammates for a reason. He’s nails at the plate. He’s nails behind the plate.
Look no further than Tuesday night as Byrne continued his breakout season. Byrne finished with a team-leading five RBIs as TCU run-ruled UT Arlington 15-1 in seven innings at Lupton Stadium.
“Kurtis has been waiting a long time for this,” TCU coach Kirk Saarloos said. “Now his opportunity is here. He’s nicknamed ‘Nails’ for a reason. He’s getting some really big hits and even the ball he hit to right field (for an out) was on the button in the first inning.
“He’s catching it. He’s throwing as good as we’ve had a catcher throw in terms of being accurate with good arm strength. You can’t say enough about the work he’s put in the first two years and then this year. Now he’s able to take a deep breath and play baseball like he was at Christian Brothers.”
Byrne joined the Frogs as a highly touted catcher coming out of Christian Brothers High School in St. Louis in 2019. He could’ve pursued a professional career as a 35th-round draft pick by his hometown Cardinals.
Byrne opted to go the college route, calling it a difficult decision.
As he put it, “It was really tough out of high school to say no to that but I wanted to play in Omaha, I wanted to play college ball. It was a tough decision being a hometown kid but I definitely made the right decision.”
However, at-bats and playing time were difficult to come by for Byrne early in his college career. His freshman season in 2020 was essentially non-existent with the pandemic cutting it short. Last season, Byrne found himself behind veteran catcher Zach Humphreys, who took advantage of the NCAA freezing eligibility amid the pandemic.
And this season Byrne opened the year behind graduate transfer Michael Petrie on the depth chart. Byrne’s opportunity arose quickly, though, when Petrie sustained a left wrist injury in the season opener.
“Michael going down was the worst thing that could’ve happened. He’s one of the best teammates I’ve ever had,” Byrne said. “When it happened, it came out of nowhere but it’s the old saying of being ready when your moment comes. I think I’ve played pretty well so far.”
Byrne has stepped up in a big way, batting .279 in starting 33 of the Frogs’ 37 games. He ranks second on the team with 12 doubles and fourth with 25 RBIs. Defensively, Byrne has thrown out 11 of 23 attempted base stealers.
Byrne credited part of his success to learning under veteran catchers such as Humphreys and Petrie. Instead of viewing a backup role as a burden, he embraced it. And it’s prepared him for the situation he finds himself in now.
“I’ve always just tried to stay in the middle. Control what I can control,” Byrne said. “I don’t write the lineup. Coaches coach and players play. Whenever your moment comes, you’ve got to be ready for it. You never know when your moment is going to come.”
Byrne and the No. 21-ranked Frogs (25-12) return to Big 12 action this weekend with a three-game series at No. 3 Oklahoma State (26-10) starting Friday.
Injury update
Saarloos provided the following injury updates:
▪ Petrie took swings on Tuesday and is on pace to possibly return for the Florida State series April 29-May 1.
▪ Left-hander Austin Krob is expected to throw a simulated game on Thursday. If that goes well, Krob may be an option out of the bullpen this weekend in Stillwater.
▪ Freshman outfielder Logan Maxwell will undergo season-ending surgery on his shoulder Friday.
This story was originally published April 20, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
