Caleb Evans, political science senior, spends just as much time on the field as he does in the classroom.
Evans began playing baseball at four years old.
“It’s just one of those things that my parents put me into. I just really enjoyed playing and I was pretty good at it, which probably made me like playing it even more,” Evans said. “I think I found out later in life that I just like competition in general.”
Evans hails from Midwest City, which made him eligible to win the Clara Luper scholarship, a program for Oklahoma locals to attend college with a majority of their tuition paid.
Evans said he discovered OCU through his old baseball coach. He said OCU’s head baseball coach, Denney Crabaugh, offered him a position on the team.
“He always talked about how good the program was,” Evans said. “When I received the Clara Luper scholarship, I reached out to Denney Crabaugh and had a conversation with him and he gave me a chance as a preferred walk on.”
Evans is now one of the team’s right-handed pitchers.
Evans said he began at OCU on a different path.
“I actually started out with a political science minor and an English major, but I took a class with Dr. Mohamed Daadaoui. I had always been a little interested in politics, but he sparked my interest in the program here,” he said.
Evans has served as senator for the Athletics seat in Student Government Association, and he currently serves as the secretary of policies in the executive cabinet. He helped launch the Pads and Tampons Initiative, the Let’s Talk initiative and the Initiative to Combat Revenge Porn.
Evans said he plans to attend law school after he graduates from OCU.
“It’s just a matter of where I’m going that’s the question. I’ve gotten some pretty good scholarships from OCU, from Tulsa and OU, so it will be one of those three,” he said. “I’m going to practice health law, primarily focusing on how to get people the proper healthcare and make sure they’re not being taken advantage of.”
Evans said he wants to spend his spare time to advocating for expanded healthcare for disadvantaged communities.
In addition to law school and baseball, Evans is also getting married in July. He said he met his fiancé at OCU.
“Anna and I, we started dating second semester of my freshman year and made it all the way to now. She’s a couple years older than me, and she was actually my RA freshman year,” he said. “I would not be where I am without her. She is definitely the best person I know.”
Evans said he also owes a lot to his baseball coaches.
“I wouldn’t be where I’m at in my life without Denny Crabaugh and Coach Lytle. Both of those guys are in the National Hall of Fame for coaching. Denny still scrubs pants after games, even though he’s in the Hall of Fame, and Keith still drags the field,” he said. “They taught me that you’re never too good for a job that has to be done.”
Crabaugh said Evans is a dependable player.
“Caleb has been one of those guys that I can count on when I need something. He’s one of the most respected people on our team, because of his commitment to the team, because of his overall character,” Crabaugh said. “To have the respect he does shows how much he’s worked to be where he’s at.”
Crabaugh said Evans will make a fantastic lawyer.
Evans said he enjoys politics because of the way it combines emotion and logic.
“The thing about political science and how it relates to politics in itself is that they’re kind of contradictory things. On one hand, one has to be very data-driven; you have to study numbers. But in reality, politics is very emotional and rhetorical,” he said. “Everybody gets to participate in politics. Learn that every voice matters, no matter how statistically off that it seems to be, and value it.”
Evans said his advice for other students is simple.
“You just kind of have to be a nerd and be OK with that,” he said. “The library is open, go use it.”
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