LA JOYA — La Joya High senior left-handed pitcher JC Gutierrez realized a childhood dream by signing a national letter of intent to play college baseball at Texas Tech on Wednesday afternoon at La Joya High School.
Texas Tech is a Division I school, in Lubbock, which competes in the Big 12 Conference.
“It means the world to me. Ever since I was a kid, my dream school was always Texas Tech and I’ve always tried to prepare and stay on a straight road that way I can be able to sign today,” he said.
Gutierrez has been lights out on the mound during his three years with the Coyotes. He holds a career 2.14 ERA, an 18-5 record, and 195 strikeouts compared to 71 hits in 121 innings pitched.
He helped lead La Joya to the District 31-6A championship last season with a 16-0 record during district competition.
As a junior in 2021, Gutierrez led the Rio Grande Valley in strikeouts with 106. He went 10-1 with a 1.20 ERA and didn’t have a single start with less than seven punchouts. In his three starts during the playoffs, he recorded 10 strikeouts against Weslaco High, 10 against San Antonio Stevens and 12 against Eagle Pass. Gutierrez was named to the Texas Sports Writers Association All-State Third Team.
He’s become solid at the plate as well with a .338 batting average as a junior and .344 average as a sophomore. He’s also driven in 29 RBIs and scored 22 runs over the last two seasons.
With one more season with the Coyotes ahead, Gutierrez is focused on defending La Joya’s district title before officially becoming a Red Raiders student-athlete.
“They’ll be getting a confident, dominant player on the mound that always keeps his cool, tries to help the team win and sacrifices for the team,” Gutierrez said.
Texas Tech completed the 2021 season with a 39-17 overall record and 14-10 mark in Big 12 competition. The Red Raiders finished third in conference play and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional.
Gutierrez thanked his family, travel ball coaches and the La Joya High coaching staff for helping him earn the opportunity to continue his athletic and academic career at the next level.
“I’m glad the community and my coaches were able to come out and support, and I always have the support of my family I can count on,” he said.
