BY NOLAN RUTH
X – @RealNolanRuth
Aledo is no stranger to success, whether it be on the gridiron, the hardwood, or the diamond. The prestige of the east Parker County town was shown once again on Sunday night when baseball alum Max Belyeu was taken in the second round of the Major League Baseball draft by the Colorado Rockies with the 74th pick of the 2025 draft.
Belyeu spent two years under coach Chad Berry at Aledo where he held a .356 batting average and led the Bearcats to back-to-back regional final appearances alongside Baltimore Oriole prospect Creed Willems in one of those seasons.
“Max is a great ball player,” Willems said in a written statement. He has shown that throughout high school and college. He has tons of talent and works hard. It is awesome teammates get to fulfill their childhood dreams of getting drafted to play professional baseball. He has a bright future in this game.”
Willems was not the only one to sing praises to Belyeu. Another former Bearcat teammate, Cade Pulido, had some words to say.
“I’m very happy and excited for him,” Pulido wrote. “I know it was a dream of his to play professionally and now we are going to watch it unfold. He is very hard working and it is well deserved.”
However, it was former Bearcat pitcher Carter Shands who wrapped it all up in a simple statement.
“He’s about to make 29 other teams upset that they did not draft him.” Shands said in writing.
But is was not just his former teammates, as Aledo head coach Chad Barry also spoke of his admiration towards the former Aledo outfielder.
“The first thing that stuck out to me about Max was that it was all about business,” Barry said. “He was always more focused on working his craft every day, His work ethic is impeccable. You can’t teach that kind of work ethic and leadership.”
Barry recalled Belyeu and Willems building off of each other during their time at Aledo, and comparing the same quality to former Bearcat and current Texas Ranger Cody Bradford.
“The one thing about those three guys is they were good at managing their time,” Barry stated. “For them it was ‘When I’m in class, I’m in class getting my work done.’ And then ‘When I’m on the field, I am on the field and doing my best for my team.’ They knew the line between baseball and life. And the bigger the moment, the better they are.”
Belyeu is now among elite baseball players in Aledo sports history to get taken in the baseball draft, and is now the earliest draft pick in Aledo history. But what makes him stand out is his ability to overcome adversity.
“I remember having a conversation with Max,” Aledo’s assistant baseball coach Mike Evans said. “He was struggling and really frustrated. But he believed in himself, studied film, watched opponents, understood nutrition, and when you look at him, he already looks like a major league ball player.”
The Colorado Rockies sure thought so, taking Belyeu in the second round after winning the Big 12 player of the year in 2024. After missing substantial time in 2025 for the Texas Longhorns, Belyeu homered in a crucial game in Norman against the rival Oklahoma Sooners to clinch the regular season SEC title. In his final at-bat as a Longhorn, Belyeu homered against UTSA in the Austin regional before Texas ultimately fell to the Roadrunners.
With the Longhorns, Belyeu bated .317 with 27 home runs and 84 RBI and a slugging percentage of .616.
Now he joins Bradford and Willems as former Aledo Bearcats to play professional baseball. He will likely join the rookie club in Arizona before starting the 2026 baseball season with the main club to try and etch his name into Major League Baseball.
