High School

Disaster relief on the diamond: San Antonio Missions to wear 4 Texas high school baseball teams' jerseys

The Padres' Double-A affiliate will help those impacted by the floods in the Hill County during an Aug. 9 game

Cody Thorn

TEXSAR search-and-rescue volunteers scour the banks of the Guadalupe River, looking for victims of the recent floods. The group has deployed 50 volunteers and six swift-water rescue boats to help search for victims. Mandatory Credit: Courtesy of TEXSAR via Imagn Images
TEXSAR search-and-rescue volunteers scour the banks of the Guadalupe River, looking for victims of the recent floods. The group has deployed 50 volunteers and six swift-water rescue boats to help search for victims. Mandatory Credit: Courtesy of TEXSAR via Imagn Images / Courtesy of TEXSAR via Imagn Images

In the wake of devastating floods in the Hill Country, professional teams are aiding in the cause by donating money.

The San Antonio Missions, the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, is doing so as well, but is taking a different route.

The team announced July 16 it would wear high school baseball jerseys of four high schools in the Hill Country — Center Point, Ingram Tom Moore, Comfort and Kerrville Tivy.

Those are the closest public schools in the area of the flooding that started July 3 near the Guadalupe River and, as of July 17, has claimed 135 victims, with many more still missing.

“Our hearts are heavy as we witness the devastating flooding that has impacted so many across the Texas Hill Country,” said Missions President Burl Yarbrough. “As a proud part of Central Texas, the Missions are committed to supporting our neighbors as they begin to recover and rebuild.”

Yarbrough said he and his staff started immediately thinking of ways to help after seeing the disaster unfold a little more than an hour north of its ballpark.

The Missions lost 1-0 to Midland on July 3 and he said he remembered rain during the game and rain while driving home in the rain to his house in Boerne.

“You really had no idea until we woke up to know how severe it was,” he said.

He said staff members for the Missions have family in the Hill Country or have been part of those communities before moving. 

The idea of a fundraising benefit came to light and each school was contacted and was on board with the idea. San Antonio players will wear one of four jerseys during the game and afterwards, an auction will be held for an autographed jersey.

“We’re going to kind of look like an All-Star Team because we’re going to have four different high school jerseys,” Yarbrough said. “Some will be wearing Kerrville Tivy, some will be wearing Ingram (ISD), some in Center Point and some in Comfort.”

Tivy lost soccer coach Reese Zunker and his family. Zunker and his wife Paula were found on July 5. Children Lyle and Holland were confirmed dead on July 17 by the Kerrville Daily Times, from a post by Wes Zunker.

Previous reporting: Texas high school coach and wife found dead after Kerr County flooding; children still missing

The City of Kerrville is using Tivy High's Antler Stadium as the base point where volunteers gather before going out to help clean up, according to San Antonio’s FOX affiliate. 

Yarbrough said he expects members from all four of the baseball teams will also be on hand for the game against the Springfield Cardinals.

"The Missions came to us with the idea for this game, and they seem to be going above and beyond to make sure it's done the right way," Comfort baseball coach Bryan Bishop said. "Not only is it a great opportunity to raise funds for Kerr County, but it gives these communities, and the people who live here, both a reprieve from the hurt and a sense of pride watching professional players wearing your school's jersey."

The team also announced in its press release that former San Antonio Spurs great Manu Ginobili will throw out the first pitch wearing a jersey of one of the schools. Ginobili, a four-time NBA champion and basketball Hall of Famer, is one of the owners of the Missions.

“I think everybody in our area have been greatly affected by what has happened,” Yarbrough said. “And it's really not only the people from the Hill Country, but people at the (youth) camp, and they were camping out were from all over the state and country. This touched a lot of people and we're very happy to come up with an idea that we hope will raise some funds.”

Proceeds from the jersey auction will go to the Kerr County Flood Relief Fund as well as towards a partnership the Missions are entering with the Round Rock Express, Nolan Ryan Foundation and RS3 Turf to help Ingram Little League rebuild their fields that suffered damage from the floods.

San Antonio Mission
The Corpus Christi Hooks face San Antonio Missions during Opening Night at Whataburger Field on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Corpus Christi, Texas. San Antonio will wear special jerseys on Aug. 9. / Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Ingram, located between Hunt and Kerrville, had three fields located off SH 39.

The Missions will partner with the Round Rock Express, the Texas Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, which owners with shares of both teams.

“Baseball is such a big part of kids growing up and Ingram to lose their fields and everything, it’s going to be real good partnering with the Round Rock Express, the Nolan Ryan Foundation and RS3, to get them back and ready to play ball next year,” Yarbrough said.

Round Rock and the Nolan Ryan Foundation held a fundraiser during the team’s homestand July 8-13. There was a 50-50 raffle with funds benefiting the Texas flood relief, a donation drive for hygiene products for those affected, in exchange for tickets to a game. On July 11, Round Rock players wore Express 34 jerseys that were auctioned offer on Minor League Baseball’s website.

The Missions are actively working with Major League Baseball and the San Diego Padres on ways to involve fans across the country in relief efforts. More information about these efforts and additional fundraising initiatives will be announced in the coming weeks, according to a news release.

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Cody Thorn
CODY THORN

Cody Thorn is a veteran journalist who covers high school sports across the state of Texas and Missouri. He is based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and has covered sports and news since 1999.

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