Evan Gattis, former standout baseball player for the University of Texas of the Permian Basin didn't miss a beat once his collegiate career was over.  The Forney, Texas native was drafted in the 23^rd round by the Atlanta Braves in the 2010 Major League Baseball June Amateur Draft. 
 
Once Gattis got the call from the Braves, he was sent to Danville, Va. to play in the Appalachian Rookie League.  He immediately made an impact as he was the team's top catcher, appearing in 35 of the team's 68 games and was the fourth-best hitter among regulars with a .288 batting average.  In his first professional season, he collected 64 hits in 222 at-bats that included 10 doubles, four home runs and 29 RBI. 
 
After completing his rookie season, he was moved up to Class A League and was sent to Rome, Ga. to play for the Rome Braves.  His rookie season was a glimpse of what was to follow as Gattis not only picked up where he left off, but lead the league with a .322 batting average that included 24 doubles, two triples, 22 home runs and 71 RBI.    
 
Others in the league started to take notice as he was named to the 2011 annual all-star team which was voted on by the 14 South Atlantic League field managers, general managers, sports writers and broadcasters.  Not only was he named to the all-star team, he was twice named the SAL Player of the Week.

Gattis did not originally plan on attending UTPB as he signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Texas A&M.  Instead of heading to College Station from Forney, he took some time to get his life in order before heading to Seminole State College in Oklahoma for a year.  During his short time in Oklahoma, Gattis hurt his knee and decided baseball was no longer for him.  “I was basically terrified of the whole idea of going to a big college and playing baseball," he told the Dallas Morning News.  “I was 17 years old. I didn't know who I was, and I was under a lot of pressure. My whole worth as a person was as a baseball player. If I failed at that, where would I be?” 
 
As luck would have it for UTPB head coach Brian Reinke, Gattis' step brother Drew Kendrick was on the Falcon roster.  One day Kendrick received a phone call from Gattis informing him he was ready to start playing again.  The two connected when Gattis arrived on the UTPB campus. 
 
Having not played for nearly four years, Gattis struggled at first, but it didn't take long for him to become a standout for the Falcons.  In his lone hear with the program, he was a first-team All-Heartland Conference selection after starting 57 games, hitting .403 with 77 hits that included 19 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 35 walks – 11 of which were intentional. 
 
Gattis' choice to attend UTPB and play for the Falcons proved to be one of the best decisions of his life.  Not only is he living out his dream of being a professional baseball player, but from the looks of it, he could be doing it for a long time.