Phoenix Meza hungry to start Oklahoma State career
CHOCTAW, Okla. (BVM) — In sports, if someone has the “it” factor, they’re usually going to stand out. And when one watches Phoenix Meza, he stands out above the rest.
“[The] ‘it’ factor is something we always look for in baseball,” Choctaw head baseball coach Shane Hawk said. “I really didn’t know much about him and in his first practice, in the first 10 swings, he hit five [balls] out. You can tell a lot about baseball players just by the way they play catch. In my career and where I’ve been, I got a real good sense of how good he was by just watching him play catch.”
The 6-foot-1, 170-pound Meza just finished up his senior year at Choctaw. In 35 games. Meza had a batting average of .448, an OPS of 1.326, five home runs and 33 RBIs.
2022 season stats~ Choctaw 6A Record 30-8/ GP 35/ PA 137/ AB 105/ AVG .448/ OBP .555/ OPS 1.326/ SLG .771/ H 47/ 1B 28/ 2B 9/ 3B 5/ HR 5/ RBI 33/ R 47/
BB 26/ SO 15/ SB 25 pic.twitter.com/hAnFUncp4e— p.meza1 (@PhoenixMeza2) May 19, 2022
Although some can see the “it” factor in Meza now, it wouldn’t have been so easily spotted as he was growing up.
“Growing up, my family was really into sports,” Meza said. “I have three older brothers that all played soccer. As soon as I saw them playing, I joined them, and up till I was 7 or 8. We were practicing on a baseball field, and I would see kids running around bases, and I was like, ‘I want to do that too.’ I told my dad the very next day to sign me up for baseball tryouts. He did, and the rest is history.”
Even with Meza’s baseball career underway, his future at Choctaw wasn’t always certain. For his first two years, he played at Mansfield Summit High School. But the pandemic caused his family to move. With the move, Meza needed to find a new school to attend. He was already familiar with some of the kids on his summer team, so Meza decided that Choctaw would be that next school.
At Choctaw, he’s done enough to prove he can play the sport at a high level. He may not garner the national attention as other players do, but he doesn’t let that affect him.
“When I see those rankings about me or other athletes, I really don’t pay attention to it,” Meza said. “I just try to do me. I try to focus on what I can do and what I can do to better myself as a player.”
Meza will be trying to better himself in the Big 12 when he takes the field for Oklahoma State next spring.
Signing Day!🧡 @OSUBaseball #cowboyup22 pic.twitter.com/tf9YApo9KK
— p.meza1 (@PhoenixMeza2) November 10, 2021
“I’ve been blessed to have the talent to play D1 baseball. Without my family and my supporters, I wouldn’t be here today because they knew I had the potential to do it [play at the next level].”
To help Meza better himself will be one of the best hitters baseball has ever seen: Matt Holliday.
“Matt’s a great [mentor],” Hawk said. “When Phoenix gets the chance to have that type of coaching at OSU, it’s only going to increase his value. He’s all in for baseball.”
Whether he continues his success at OSU remains to be seen. But that goes without saying that Meza still has his eye on the prize and won’t forget those who have helped him get to where he is today.
“He’s been a ton of help,” Meza said of coach Hawk. “I’m grateful and honored for him to be my coach. I really respect coach Hawk as a person on and off the field.”
Nonetheless, Meza still has a long road ahead of him. He’s accomplished a great deal. But there’s still a lot of work to be done. And for a player like Meza, he’s in an excellent position to flourish and potentially play in MLB.
“That’s every ballplayer’s ultimate goal,” Meza said, talking about playing in MLB. “To be there and experience playing in those [great atmospheres].”
“[He has the] God-given talent,” Hawk said. “He’s already got all the five tools. He’s probably been that way since he was born. You can’t replicate that. You can work on [that] and strive to be like that, but no matter where that kid goes for the rest of his life, he’s going to be that good.
“I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever see as a coach again. I’ll have some great players, and it always comes in waves, but I don’t know if we’ll have anyone with the natural ability he does [again].”
It’s has been an honor to represent the Choctaw name for my last HS at bat. #allstargames #GoldStandard pic.twitter.com/KanZgKwDAQ
— p.meza1 (@PhoenixMeza2) May 19, 2022
