Libby Rosonet and her five-year-old daughter Tegan’s typical walking route includes walking past Lupton Stadium, where they sometimes run into baseball players leaving practice. 

Tegan started to wave and say hello when she saw the players, and they waved back.

“Tegan, being the friendly kiddo she is, would always wave and say, ‘Hey’ and, they were always really kind and would wave back and say, ‘Hey’,” Rosonet said. 

The greetings quickly won the little girl’s devotion. 

Brayden Taylor, a first-year third baseman, introduced himself as he was leaving one preseason practice. 

“That was all it took for Tegan to have a favorite player,” Rosonet said. 

Tegan has declared herself Taylor’s number one fan. She calls him “B,” and has made posters and t-shirts with his name and number on them.

Olivia Lord, a manager for the team, saw the homemade jersey and connected Tegan to Brayden for them to get a picture after the game. Tegan declared it the best day of her life.

She also knows the starting line-up and will mention things like:

“Phillip Sikes is playing well.”

“When is Hunter Wolfe up?” 

“I hope Gene Wood’s wrist is okay.” 

“Zach Humphreys plays catcher.”

 “Luke Boyers bats before Brayden.”

 “Haylen Green told me he liked my scooter helmet.”

A team worthy of admiration

Rosonet said she was so appreciative of the team’s attitude toward Tegan that she emailed head coach Jim Schlossnagle at the beginning of February telling him about the kindness of the players.

She told him that she used the encounters to talk with her daughter about working hard to achieve goals and using passion and gifts to their fullest potential.

Schlossnagle responded almost right away, asking for permission to forward the email to his team. He also asked for the family’s address so he could send Tegan some autographed Frogball goodies. 

“For Tegan, that was the greatest thing to ever happen to her, and she absolutely adores Coach and the team,” Rosonet said. 

Since then, Schlossnagle invited Tegan to come to watch a practice from the stands and the players continue to talk to her after their practices. Tegan also received two warm-up balls for her birthday from the team. 

Tegan and her mom try to go to as many games as possible. If it was up to Tegan, they would be at every game.

“We didn’t become TCU baseball fans because of the way they played or the success they have. We became TCU baseball fans because of their kindness off the field,” Rosonet said. “In a time of uncertainty and so much change, they became a constant for her, a way for her to feel seen and known. As a mom living far away from her family and close friends, there aren’t words to truly express my appreciation for that.”