After helping Red Oak win a state baseball championship last year, junior Brex Caldwell has brought his talents to Panama this year along with his dad who is an assistant coach to see if he can help the Razorbacks do the same.

“Brex is kind of like the old man of our team and is wise beyond his years,” said coach Chris Golihare jokingly. “He comes from a tradition-rich program where they play two seasons a year which, coupled with all the summer and travel ball he’s played, gives him quite an edge in experience over the rest of our guys.”

So far it seems to be working as the Razorbacks are off to a good start and are ranked in the top 10 at this writing. Brex is hitting .407 with an on-base percentage of .500. On the mound he is 2-0 in four appearances with 24 strikeouts and just five hits given up.

Caldwell, who also plays basketball, started playing young but says he started taking it seriously at about age 10 when he began playing travel ball and found out he was pretty good at it. Though he’s just a junior, Brex has verbally committed to play baseball at Oklahoma State when he graduates.

“I’ve always been a big OU and OSU fan, but my first recruiting visit was actually to Arkansas and I got along with them pretty well. But then I went to OSU and just fell in love with the facility they’re building and their pitching staff and coaches. It does take some of the pressure off for the next couple of years, but it makes me want to improve my pitching even more now,” said Caldwell who is also active in FFA.

With all of his experience and with just one senior on the Panama team, Brex has become a de facto leader this year which is okay with him.

“I try to lead by example but I’m also there if someone needs help with something or if they’re down on themselves.”

So given all of the baseball he’s played so far and what lies ahead in high school and beyond, is there any danger of “baseball burnout’ for Brex?

“There’s no way,” he laughed. “If I could play baseball the rest of my life that would be amazing. Just stepping out on the field makes my day so much better.”