Star OF Commits to Baseball Team

While most of the recruiting talk in Austin centers around the Longhorn football team, Texas baseball coach Augie Garrido quietly picked up a commitment from one of the nation's top baseball players on Monday.

Plano (Texas)East outfielder Wes Bankston committed to Garrido on Monday morning after talking an official visit to Austin this weekend.

"The visit went great," Bankston said. "The guys are great, the coaches are nice and Austin is just a great place to live."

The 6-3, 200-pound Bankston chose the Longhorns over a host of baseball powers including Rice, LSU and Texas A&M.

"It was between those schools, but when I woke up this morning I knew where I wanted to go," Bankston said.

When asked what put the Longhorns over the top of the other schools he had shown interest in, Bankston supplied a long list of reasons.

"I really got along great with the players there," Bankston said. "I loved the way the team gets along. I also saw them practice and I liked the way they worked out and I know that I will develop there. It wasn't just one thing that sold me."

The only thing that Longhorn fans have to worry about now is the Major League Baseball draft in June.

As a junior, Bankston hit over .450 and had eight home runs, but this past summer is when he really began to solidify his status as one of the top prep players in the nation. While playing for the Dallas Mustangs, Bankston hit over two dozen home runs and established himself as a possible high draft pick.

"That's would be a dream," Bankston said. "Nothing is for certain right now, but that has always been my dream. If I get drafted high, that would be something that I would have to do. That's the best-case scenario. If that doesn't happen, then I'll come to Texas and that will be great. I can't lose."