Floyd's Chenault signs with University of the Southwest

Darwin Chenault never had to question his son’s dedication to baseball — and that was more than a decade before he ever coached him at Floyd High School.

“He loved it and would work endless hours on his own,” Chenault said, noting that Chet started playing baseball as soon as 2 years old. “We have a field by the house, and he would just play baseball by himself for four hours at a time.”

That dedication paid off for the Broncos, the Class 1A runnerup this season, and for Chet, who signed a letter-of-intent to play baseball next season for University of the Southwest in Hobbs.

“It’s pretty close, I like the coach,” the younger Chenault said of the Michael Galvan-led Mustangs. “He’s a really nice guy that knows what he’s doing.”

From his eighth-grade year at Floyd, where he hit five homers, Chenault had shown the possibility of a college baseball career. His father said that then-Bronco coach Cody May recognized the talent.

“Cody had just come out of playing in a college program,” Coach Chenault said. “He knew, and he was right.”

The senior version, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound pitcher and shortstop, proved too much for many Class 1A and 2A teams to handle. He hit .565 with seven homers and 42 RBIs in 21 games for the Broncos, with a .632 on-base percentage and 1.097 slugging percentage. His 32 career homers are third all-time in the New Mexico high school record books.

“As a senior, I had some extra time,” Chet Chenault said. “The other senior (for Floyd, Blake Martin), we’d go out. He’d throw and I’d hit, then I’d throw and he’d hit.”

With a fastball in the upper 80s, he went 4-3 with about a 1.5 ERA.

“He’s pitched almost every big game for us the last two years,” Coach Chenault said.

The Mustangs were looking at him mostly for his arm, the family said.

“I can throw a ball a little harder than I used to,” Chet Chenault said, “and I can control it a little bit more.”

His father said the Broncos didn’t have a “rah-rah” leader in Chet, but he got the job done.

“He brings a calmness out on the field,” Coach Chenault said. “He has the presence that everything’s going to be all right. He never gets rattled, never gets flustered.”