{"id":212546,"date":"2026-03-20T06:02:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:02:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/212546\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T06:02:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T06:02:08","slug":"boston-kellners-calm-demeanor-fiery-bat-boosts-texas-am-baseball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/212546\/","title":{"rendered":"Boston Kellner’s calm demeanor, fiery bat boosts Texas A&M baseball"},"content":{"rendered":"

COLLEGE STATION \u2014 Texas A&M<\/a>\u00a0head coach Michael Earley has seen a lot of ballplayers in his day.<\/p>\n

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A former MLB draft pick and nine-year collegiate coach,\u00a0Earley has spent decades around the game. But he had particularly high praise for freshman shortstop Boston Kellner.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI just think his maturity level is just different,\u201d head coach Michael\u00a0Earley told the Austin-Statesman of Kellner. “Probably the most unique or mature kid I’ve ever recruited,” Earley said.<\/p>\n

That maturity means meditation and reading scripture before games. It means a demeanor that sometimes exceeds his 19 years of age. That maturity has also led to 20 starts on an 17-3 A&M team coming into this weekend’s series against Georgia. The No. 23\u00a0Aggies are off to their best start of the season since 2024, when they made it to the College World Series finals.<\/p>\n

And a key reason why is Kellner, who has come a long way not only to College Station, but as a young man.<\/p>\n

“I feel like that stoicness has always been with me my whole life,” Kellner said earlier this month. “But it’s something that I’ve really expanded on and honed in on when I figured out that this baseball thing is something I can pursue and make my life’s work.”<\/p>\n

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MORE:\u00a0Caden Sorrell blasts 2 home runs as No. 23 Texas A&M baseball downs Texas State<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Infielder<\/p>\n

Infielder Boston\u00a0Kellner (6) of Texas A&M\u00a0during the game between Penn and the Aggies at Blue Bell Park in College Station. Photo By Micah Richter\/Texas A&M Athletics<\/p>\n

Micah Richter\/Micah Richter\/Texas A&M Athletics<\/p>\n

Boston\u00a0Kellner’s talent, clutch gene evident early on<\/p>\n

Long before\u00a0Kellner arrived at A&M as the No. 3 prospect out of Arizona, he was a bouncy kid who stood out among his siblings. His seriousness didn’t jump out quite as much as his athleticism.<\/p>\n

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\u201cOut of the four kids \u2014 all great kids \u2014 but he was clearly the most athletic from the beginning,\u201d Boston\u2019s mom, Kari, told the Statesman. \u201cHe walked early, biked early, and he would not put down his big brother’s bat. He carried that bat everywhere, every opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally from Woodbury, Minn., where Boston spent the first 14 years of his life, the\u00a0Kellners eventually\u00a0moved to Colorado Springs,\u00a0Col. His father, Bob, got a new role with ENT Credit Union. Boston spent two years at Pine Creek High School, starting on varsity as a freshman before a different job opportunity for his father led the family to move to Arizona ahead of his junior season.<\/p>\n

That is when his baseball career began to take off.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He joined Hamilton High School, a powerhouse in Chandler, Ariz., known for producing MLB All-Star Cody Bellinger and 23 other alumni drafted by MLB teams. Playing for the Huskies, Kellner earned Class 6A\u00a0AIA and 6A Premier Region Player of the Year honors in 2024 and 2025. He finished his high school career with 29 home runs and a batting average over .400.<\/p>\n

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Entering college,\u00a0Perfect Game<\/a> ranked him a 10 in its system, its highest designation given to players who meet the criteria of “Potential very high draft pick and\/or Elite level college prospect.” He eventually rose to the outlet’s 69th overall player in the 2026 class,.<\/p>\n

So it’s no surprise he’s quickly made an impact for A&M.<\/p>\n

The 6-foot, right-handed infielder has already recorded two walk-offs in his young career: an RBI double against Penn that lifted A&M to a 1-0<\/a> victory, and most recently, he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to give the Aggies an 11-1 run-rule win<\/a> over Incarnate Word.<\/p>\n

As of Thursday, he is batting .302, slugging .571 and has a .476 on-base percentage. He’s tallied four home runs, five doubles and 19 RBIs.<\/p>\n

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“He just always played hard. He played with passion,” Kari said of her son. “(He) was a little clutch player and stuff, but it was really once he got on the national radar that we said, ‘wow, you know, he’s looking like he might be able to play at the next level.'”<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas A&M baseball’s Boston\u00a0Kellner at two years old, posing for a photo with a baseball and a glove.<\/p>\n

Kari Kellner\/Kellner Family<\/p>\n

How mental preparation powers Kellner<\/p>\n

In a sport where failing more often than not can still lead to a Hall of Fame career, Kellner has recognized that failure is not only a possibility but a reality of the game. That awareness has changed his mindset since arriving at Texas A&M.<\/p>\n

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Before games, Kellner can be found meditating, or reading Bible verses.<\/p>\n

“I just really learned how to control my mind and control my thoughts,” Kellner said. “(The goal) is to be in a good headspace for when I’m playing a game, or even practicing, or giving teammates advice. Just learning about everything I can to mentally be the best I can be.”<\/p>\n

Although much of his preparation appears to be internal, Kellner quickly gives credit to leaders like Gavin Grahovac, Caden Sorrell and Chris Hacopian<\/a> for taking him under their wings as upperclassmen.<\/p>\n

Not only the players, but Kellner also states that Earley and the coaching staff have supported and believed in him since his first day on campus. When he needed a boost as a young guy finding his way, it was the coach and team that provided that extra encouragement. Both Earley and Kellner spoke to a moment in the fall when\u00a0Kellner was a bit hesitant to jump into the action at shortstop among the upperclassmen.<\/p>\n

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It was a one-on-one conversation and a vote of confidence from his head coach that helped\u00a0Kellner avoid feeling timid again. So when opening day arrived, even\u00a0Kellner, the uber-intense, unorthodox budding star, had to allow himself a moment to take it all in.<\/p>\n

“(I thought) man, this is real,” Kellner remebers about looking up at the crowd before running to his spot on the field. “This is real, and I’m truly blessed to be in this position… that was definitely the moment.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, he is one of just two everyday freshman starters for A&M \u2014 the other being Nico Partida \u2014 and the Aggies are off to their best start since they fell one win short of a national title in 2024.<\/p>\n

MORE:\u00a0Texas A&M wins 2 of 3 at Amegy Bank College Baseball Series: 5 takeaways for the Aggies<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas A&M shortstop Boston Kellner (6) celebrates after hitting a walk-off double against Penn at Blue Bell Park in College Station.<\/p>\n

Texas A&M Athletic Department<\/p>\n

‘I just had to have him’<\/p>\n

Beyond his performance on the field, what has stood out early for Kellner is his sense of belonging.<\/p>\n

Whether it’s his laser-focused approach to batting practice and taking grounders during warm-ups, or his level-headedness during the highs and lows of a game, the infielder has never seemed out of place.<\/p>\n

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“I remember I was in Georgia in a hotel, and I got off the phone (with him), and I was just like extremely impressed,” said Earley, who was a standout\u00a0outfielder for Indiana University and then the Chicago\u00a0White Sox organization\u00a0in his playing days. “I’m like, man, I really want to meet this kid because I want to see if like, this is who he really is\u2026 and then I got to meet him, and I was just really blown away by his character.”<\/p>\n

Older players seem to be drawn to\u00a0Kellner as well.<\/p>\n

He’s often seen joking with or getting tips from players such as\u00a0Hacopian, the star second baseman who transferred in\u00a0this\u00a0offseason. Hacopian suffered a hand fracture in the fall, which\u00a0Earley acknowledges laid the groundwork for Kellner to get more looks at shortstop \u2014 a role he ultimately secured.<\/p>\n

“I think stoic is a good word, but he’s also really intense,” Earley said. “(He\u2019s) very likable. He’s not one of those guys that’s just, you know, keeps to himself\u2026by all accounts, the players seem to love him, like everyone loves having him around. He just makes you feel like you can trust him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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At the dish, Kellner has reached base in every game this season. He’s struck out 10 times in 85 plate appearances, drawing 17 walks and getting hit by four pitches. In 63 defensive chances, he has just four errors, one of which occurred in the first series of his college career against Tennessee Tech, and another against UCLA in A&M’s first loss of the season.<\/p>\n

Kellner has proven to be a valuable player for the Aggies, batting throughout the lineup and helping elevate A&M to the SEC’s third-ranked offense (.326) and third-ranked fielding team (.983), despite only having its opening-day roster less than six times this season due to injuries.<\/p>\n

With a lot of pressure on A&M to perform after a down year in 2025, relying on a true freshman at a critical position is definitely a gamble. However, it seems Earley may have known what he was getting in Kellner long before many in the general public did.<\/p>\n

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“There’s been a few (players), and there’s a couple more on this team, but it was like, you know, if you don’t get a kid, you’re like, alright, you just move on,” Earley began. “(But) he was one of those guys that like, I just had to have him.”<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas A&M shortstop Boston Kellner, along with Aggies head baseball coach Michael\u00a0Earley, posing for a picture pregame of A&M’s football game vs Missouri, Oct. 5, 2024 at Kyle Field in College Station<\/p>\n

Kari Kellner\/K<\/p>\n

Reach Texas A&M beat reporter Tony Catalina via email at Anthony.Catalina@statesman.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"COLLEGE STATION \u2014 Texas A&M\u00a0head coach Michael Earley has seen a lot of ballplayers in his day. A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212547,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[70373,2845,52599,2846,27,52717,29,28],"class_list":["post-212546","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-boston-kellner","tag-college-baseball","tag-michael-earley","tag-sec-baseball","tag-texas","tag-texas-am-baseball","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212546","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212546"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212546\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212546"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212546"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212546"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}