Alex Gudac said he plans to make an impact in his first season as part of Texas Wesleyan’s baseball team.

Gudac, a junior business management major and starting center fielder, said he wants to get stronger physically and mentally.

“I want to become more of a leader for the younger guys on the team,” he said.

Gudac is a transfer from Mesa Community College in Mesa, Ariz., where he played for two seasons. The team won the NJCAA Division II National Championship his freshman season, and in his sophomore season he batted .315 and led the team with runs (48) and stolen bases (17), according to ramsports.net.

Gudac said he had several reasons for choosing Wesleyan after being recruited by assistant head coach Robert Garza last summer.

 “Financially Wesleyan was a good choice for me, plus I have never been to Texas or experienced what it is like here,” Gudac said.

Gudac was a second baseman at Juan Diego Catholic high school in Draper, Utah, where he helped win three state championships, he said.

“It wasn’t until I went to college that I started playing in the outfield, and my first position out there was left field,” Gudac said.

Growing up, Gudac played multiple sports including golf, snowboarding, and motocross, he said.

“I had to give up motocross my sophomore year of high school due to an injury,” Gudac said.

Junior shortstop Casey Moses, like Gudac, went to Mesa College and transferred to Wesleyan after two years, he said.

“Me and Alex became friends our freshman year around October because I transferred late,” Moses said.

Moses said that Gudac is the type of person who always gives 100 percent to whatever he is doing and will not stop until it is done.

“He is a very passionate person on and off the field, and his all-in mentality is very infectious for me and the team,” Moses said

Moses said Gudac is an energetic person and he gives some of that energy to the team.

“The kid doesn’t shut up or stay still,” Moses said. “Even in his sleep he has energy,” Moses said.

Moses added that everyone on the team likes Gudac and that he hasn’t met anyone who doesn’t like him.

“He’s the man! He’s a lovable kid that everyone seems to want to be around,” Moses said.

Juan Diego Catholic High School head baseball coach Troy Davis has nothing but praise for Gudac.

“Alex has always been a self-motivator,” Davis said. “He was a bit undersized in high school and I really think his motivation to get to the next level came from the fact that some people didn’t think he could do it, so he set his mind to prove them wrong.”

At Juan Diego Catholic, Gudac was a very talented athlete that worked hard every day to improve his skills, Davis said.

“He led by example and competed every single day, he took his education serious because at Juan Diego Catholic, there is no other option,” Davis said.

Davis said he and Gudac still communicate, and that the two talked a lot when Gudac played for him.

“Alex has a tremendous desire to learn and improve at all levels of his life,” Davis said. “ We often talked about the lessons baseball can teach us, and that high school baseball was merely a stepping stone for him.”

Baseball after high school is a bonus for most players, Davis said, because  not everyone has the opportunity to play college ball.

“Alex learned how to play the game the right way, with passion, commitment and a desire to make himself and the players around him better,” Davis said. “He is a team player and loves to win and compete.”

As the season begins, Gudac said that he wants to bring his past winning experiences at both the high school and junior college level to the Rams.

““I hate losing more than anything,” Gudac said. ” I want to help the team come together and win a championship, and to ultimately get drafted into the MLB.”