After taking a leap of faith and transferring to TXST after his sophomore year, Garrett Baggs quickly found a community with cheer and a fresh mindset.
The communications major wanted to compete at the D1 level, and head cheer coach Ryan Riley recruited him and provided him with that opportunity.
“We practiced throughout that summer, and I kind of just already had 70 of my best friends around me,” Baggs said. “They were like a family at that point. I knew going to school that I was going to always have at least one of them in my class.”
He then joined Fellowship of Christian Athletes and moved into a leader role, helping him form more friendships through different sports and better connect with those who share his beliefs.
TXST cheer rallies the crowd for all sports at TXST, but the team only gets to compete in one Universal Cheerleaders Association (UCA) event per year. There is a competition among the 70 students on the team to select the 30 who will compete in the single event—plus Boko.
The goal of the UCA event is to make it to top seven out of 20 competing schools in the division to make finals, something the university hadn’t done in a while. Usually, a school will bring in a choreographer to create the routine, but coach Riley had different plans.
“Our coach decided to have me choreograph it, which is kind of unheard of,” Baggs said. “It was special being my senior year, and the cherry on top was we made finals. I got the chance to compete with all my best friends. It was a good chapter to close on.”
He was later awarded Game Day Male of the Year and received the Bobcat Pride Award at the cheer team banquet, which is voted on by the coaching staff and other sports teams. While he didn’t call himself the most talented person in that room, Baggs felt a sense of pride by being recognized for his dedication.
“Coach Riley took a shot in the dark on me because I came from a D2 school,” he said. “He showed interest in me and built me from the ground up here. We bonded in a different way and worked really well together.”