Georgia Tech senior Brad Feltes has made a big splash on the Yellow Jackets team this year. Poised to split time at third base, Feltes has become the top defensive third baseman and has been a force at the plate. Feltes came into the year as a .213 career hitter, but is hitting .326 in 2008 with three home runs so far. He is a also a Dean's List student in Georgia Tech's Management major, and has been an ACC Academic Honor Roll honoree.
When did you start playing baseball?
I started playing baseball before I can remember - real young. I started T-ball around the time that you start T-ball - 4? 5? I'm not really sure! (laughs)
What other teams have you competed on leading up to your college career?
I played with East Cobb starting when I was 14, which is a really good competitive league here in Georgia. I played with the East Cobb Astros with Gary Baldwin when I was 16. When I was 17 and 18, I played with the East Cobb Yankees. I also (played with my high school team) at Chattahoochee High School, and then Georgia Tech.
What is the best advice you've received from a coach?
Probably the best advice I've received from a coach would be that when you're in a slump, when you're not hitting very well, the biggest thing to get through your head is the "seven inches between your two ears" and go out there and do what you do every day. Don't really worry about what's going on, just play to the best of your ability.
Who is your most influential role model?
My most influential role model would be my father, because he's worked very hard throughout his life and he's never given up. He's definitely run into a few bumps but it hasn't stopped him. He just kept doing what he was doing and worked as hard as he possibly could for however long he's been working.
What do you consider your most memorable moment in sports, either as an athlete or as a sports fan?
I liked when we played College of Charleston my sophomore year (2006) when we went to Omaha. That's probably one of the best feelings in the world for me, knowing there're few people who get to enjoy that moment and actually go to Omaha and play in Rosenblatt Stadium.
Can you expand a bit on your experience in Omaha?
It was way too short. We were only there for two games because we lost our first two to get knocked out of the tournament. (However), just walking into that stadium was something I never felt before. I had also gone to the Connie Mack World Series when I was 18, which usually gets around 10,000 people (in the stands), so playing there was another awesome experience. But Omaha is something that - as a kid - you dream of going to and it was an unbelievable experience playing in that stadium, knowing all the great athletes who had been there before we were.
What is your personal greatest accomplishment as an athlete?
I would say sticking here at Georgia Tech. I didn't play my first two years - I was a back-up behind Wes Hodges, who was one of my real good friends and he taught me a lot of things. I just wanted to play here at Georgia Tech and stuck with it instead of transferring somewhere else where I could have probably played more. But I stuck with it and am now a starter here - hopefully will stay a starter - and worked hard to get where I am right now.
Can you talk about what it took to not only come back after surgery in the off-season, but to come back and play even better than before?
Last year, I was hurt for probably 75 percent of the season and my knee bothered me extremely badly, but like I said, I didn't play much beforehand and I wanted to be out there every day, so I just battled through it. I got surgery over the summer - it wasn't a big knee surgery but it was something that needed to be done. I had a bone in my knee that was digging into one of my quad muscles, so I got that out and now my knee feels great. I worked hard with our trainers here at Georgia Tech and they got me back to 100 percent pretty quickly. It doesn't bother me at all now, so it's a lot easier to play now than it was a couple months ago.
What do you still hope to accomplish in your baseball career?
It's a dream to get drafted, but right now I hope we compete well and go back to Omaha again for my senior year. It's our goal to get back there and something I've been dreaming about so hopefully I can play out there.
What is it like competing in a conference like the ACC?
It's very, very tough. There're really good teams and we usually don't get a weekend off. Every team is very competitive, and we just have to go out and take every game pitch-by-pitch. If you take a pitch off, you get beat.
As a Dean's List student and member of the ACC Academic Honor Roll, how do you balance the demands of academics and such a schedule-heavy sport as baseball?
Georgia Tech is very academically challenging, especially with (having) five games a week right now. It's (a matter of) getting into a routine. I don't really know. I just get into a routine, play the games here. When I need to study (I study); we get Mondays off, so that's a time to catch up. Sometimes I get a test after a game or before a game, but that's just part of being a student-athlete here. Coach Hall always says that it's academics first, baseball second. Some people are going to play baseball for a long time, but most people need to do something other than baseball. A degree from Georgia Tech will help a lot.
What is your academic major?
Right now I'm majoring in Management and hopefully getting a certificate in Operations.
Why did you choose Georgia Tech?
From the East Cobb Yankees, I had a lot of teammates who went to Georgia Tech before I signed here. A lot of my buddies went here and said they loved it. I enjoyed the coaches when they recruited me, the facilities here are very good, and Georgia Tech always had a good reputation of having a good team and putting players into the next level. It didn't hurt academic-wise that Tech is always up on the list for a good degree and I can probably get a good job with that degree after baseball is over.
What are your plans for after graduation?
(laughs) That's a good question! I'm trying to figure that out myself. This is my last season of eligibility, but I won't graduate until December so I have one more semester to figure it all out! I'm trying to get an internship for this summer if baseball is over with, and I'm trying to get into the field of operations with supply chain management and logistics.
Is there anything in particular that you are taking away from your Georgia Tech career?
The best thing I got from playing at Georgia Tech is to never give up because you never know when the opportunity is going to rise for you to step up to the plate and get a hit or get in that lineup. Never give up and practice hard every day and do what you can to make yourself better. That's in the baseball world and in life.
Brad Feltes and the Yellow Jackets return to the diamond tonight at 6 p.m. when ACC foe Duke comes into town for a three-game series. The games are tonight at 6 p.m., tomorrow (3/22) at 2 p.m, and Sunday (3/23) at 1 p.m.
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