HUMBLE, Texas (KTRK) — At the spring sports pep rally at Atascocita High School, the energy and spirit hit level 10. All the spring sports athletes were introduced to the entire student body, but that was just the start of the celebration. The Eagles held a special recognition for their retiring Head Football Coach Craig Stump, and they retired the number of former Eagles baseball star Houston Astros star Brice Matthews.
Coach Stump has had a successful 37-year coaching career. He spent 14 at Atascocita building the Eagles into one of the Houston area’s most respected programs. He’s coached three players who have made it to the NFL and hundreds who have played in college. The Eagles made it to the regional finals seven of the last nine years.
When asked if he has had time to think about the thousands of athletes he’s coached, Stump said, “When I decided I was going to retire after 37 years, I had a bunch of people responding back to me, former players, and saying how they use what they learned from us in their job or with their family, and 10 years removed, for sure. You think about that.”
Houston Astros player and 2019 Atascocita graduate Brice Matthews was also honored by having his number three jersey retired by the baseball program. Matthews was a duel-sport athlete at AHS, but he’s known since he was young that baseball was his calling.
When asked about the honor of his number being retired, Matthews said,” I mean, this is awesome. I mean, you got the football guys running behind us. It’s kind of the things that I love to do, like football and baseball, but this definitely takes the cake. This is unbelievable. Getting to see that jersey up there is crazy.”
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