Sharyland alum, former MLB player Tres Barrera now at Lamar

Tres Barrera, a Sharyland alum and former MLB player, is continuing his trek in the sport as Lamar University's baseball team announced Tuesday that he will be part of the staff.

Barrera will serve as the squad's hitting coach — a team that operates within the Southland Conference, which is the same division in which UTRGV plays in.

The former UT Longhorn recently announced his retirement from the big leagues via social media on June 22. In those X and Instragram posts, he said that he wanted to walk away from the game as a player on his "own terms."

A June 22 post by Tres Barrera announcing his retirement from the MLB | Image source: X.com

He spent four seasons in the MLB from 2019-2023 for the Washington Nationals and St. Louis Cardinals — in which he appeared in 57 games. In his first year as a rookie, he was part of the Nationals' team that won the World Series.

Although his career as a player is now over, Barrera looks to make an impact over at Lamar.

"I'm incredibly excited and honored to join coach Sean Allen and the Lamar baseball family," Barrera said in a release. "Lamar has a proud winning tradition, and I'm committed to building on that legacy. I'm passionate about developing the next generation of Cardinals, challenging our players to reach their full potential and compete for championships."

In the MLB, he played the catcher position.

Here's a glimpse at some of his accolades during his four seasons in the MLB:

• .228 batting average
• 2 home runs
• 14 RBIs

Most recently, he was playing for the Nationals' minor league team. Prior to that, he was running with the Tampa Bay Rays' minor league squad.

Here are Barrera's statistics over his nine seasons in the minor leagues:

• .241 batting average
• 51 home runs
• 449 hits
• 231 RBIs
• 539 career games

Originally a native from Eagle Pass, Barrera was drafted in 2016. Prior to that, he played for the University of Texas where he racked up a .279 batting average, with 106 RBIs and 20 home runs. He spent three seasons with the Longhorns. In his jjunior year, he earned All-Big 12 Honorable Mention. The year prior, he earned second-team All-Big 12 selection.

While he was with Sharyland — where he graduated from in 2013 — he was named a Louisville Slugger first team All-American. He had a .452 batting average and 22 home runs with the Rattlers.

"Tres is one of those people who was simply born to be on a baseball field," Lamar Head Coach Sean Allen said in a release. "From the first time I was around him, what stood out the most was his passion for the game and his genuine desire to make everyone around him better. He has competed and won at the highest levels of baseball, and winning has been a constant throughout his career. More importantly, he brings an incredible baseball mind, relentless work ethic and an unwavering commitment to player development."