Eight Athletes Who Proved Deep East Texas Can Compete in the Big Leagues

When it comes to sports stars, it's true that Deep East Texas doesn't have the numbers that you would see from metropolitan areas like Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, etc. Why is that? Well, it's because of the sheer number of people. Naturally, if you've got more people, the number of athletes to choose from is going to be lower.

However, that doesn't mean that we don't have any. There are actually a surprising number of athletes that are from our area - from Nacogdoches, to Lufkin, even Pineland! I'd also make the argument that our athletes have to work harder, because the scouts and decision-makers usually focus on those large metropolitan areas, because that's where a larger concentration of talent and skill is located.

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What Kinds of Athletes Have Come Out of Deep East Texas?

There's not really one sport that dominates the list of Deep East Texas athletes. We've got football players, basketball players, baseball players, and even soccer players. They've played at all levels, from college to minor league, to major league, and some even played internationally.

There have even been some of these names that have been seen playing on the world stage at the Olympic level.

READ MORE: Three Texas Stars are Suiting Up for Team USA in the WBC

What Makes the Deep East Texas Athletes Special?

The biggest thing about the athletes that I'm referring to is that they're our hometown heroes. They've shown that just because they're from the smaller areas, doesn't mean that they can't compete at the top levels. They've put Deep East Texas towns on the map in big ways.

There may be more than this but take a look below at some of the athletes that have made themselves heard and seen in the sports world.