In the heart of the Houston Christian University baseball revival stands senior first baseman Katcher Halligan, whose love for America’s pastime runs deeper than the dirt beneath his cleats.
To Halligan, baseball is more than just the sport, it’s a passed-down family tradition and the foundation to his most prized relationships.
Halligan’s story starts with a father who played collegiate baseball at UT-Pan American (now UTRGV) and passed down his profound love for the game. With a name like ‘Katcher,’ baseball seemed written into his destiny from the moment he entered the world.
Their father-son bond was further forged through routine afternoons playing catch.
“Since I was little, that was just the thing we would do,” he adds, “It was never pushed on me, but I’ve loved it since I was a little kid.”
When Halligan entered high school, his father even served as his head coach all four years, and while many parent-coach relationships can become complicated, Halligan treasures the dynamic he shares with his father.
“We would butt heads once and a while, but we’ve always had a great player-coach relationship,” he admits.
After beginning his college career at a junior college, Halligan found himself at a crossroads.
“It’s May of my sophomore year, I can’t come back, and I don’t know where I’m going,” he remembers thinking.
The solution to his uncertainty was found just 20 minutes away from his childhood home.
At HCU, Halligan found the opportunity to play close enough to home for his whole family to come and support him.
“On any given day, I have like five or six family members on the bench, and any night I can go home and have a home-cooked meal from my mom, which doesn’t hurt!” shares Halligan, when asked what some of his favorite reasons are to be close to home.
Halligan also found coaches he trusts and the best of friends in his fellow Huskies.
Although the coaching staff has changed since he arrived, Halligan speaks glowingly about the current leadership, “They’ve been so good to us, it has been so fun,” he says.
With 33 new members and only seven returners, the team has defied all expectations and built something truly special.
“We are all here for a reason,” he proudly states.
This statement reflects the absolutely transformative season the Huskies have had so far. Their overall record currently stands at 17-9, with an impressive 10-2 mark in conference play.
“Honestly, this whole season has been unbelievable so far,” he says.
Halligan takes great pride in being a part of this culture shift, hoping to leave behind a legacy of winning and having fun with his teammates.
If there’s one thing that defines Halligan’s experience at HCU, it’s the relationships he’s built with his teammates who are also his roommates and his best friends.
These connections motivate him even on his toughest days.
He says, “I’ve got such a good group of guys around me, it genuinely makes it fun to show up to the field every day and put in work.” He adds, “When you see your team and your coaches working hard, it’s like, how could I take a day off?”
This spirit of succeeding together, combined with his lifelong love for the sport, continues to drive Halligan to always do his best.
Whether listening to his pregame rap playlist, adhering to his strict warmup routine, or stepping up to the plate to the sound of “Borderline” by Tame Impala, his passion for the game remains just as strong as when he used to play catch with his father.
While baseball occupies most of Halligan’s time, he’s developed interests beyond the sport. Recently, he’s taken up golf with his teammates.
“I’m awful at it, but I love it,” he laughs.
Academically, Halligan is pursuing a Sports Management degree, and recently he decided he wanted to pursue his masters in the same field after receiving some surprising news,
“I started this year thinking it was my last year, then at Christmas, they granted JuCo (junior college) kids an extra year of eligibility,” he shares.
Looking towards the future, in his bonus senior year and beyond, Halligan is focused on leaving HCU better than he found it.
“I just want to continue to grow the baseball program and instill a culture of winning and having fun,” he continues, “Our program has been down for so long, but with the new coaching staff, it’s switching up.”
The evidence of the change is already visible. “We’ve seen more fans coming, more engagement, and I just want to continue that. I mean, if I’m not there to see the day they win something big, that’s fine, but knowing we flipped that switch makes me happy.”
For Katcher Halligan, baseball isn’t just in his name, it’s at the core of who he is. He represents something increasingly rare in sports–someone who plays simply for the love of the game.
As he continues his journey as a Husky and beyond, that genuine love for the game and the connections it has brought will remain his greatest legacy.