For Evan Gattis, the road to the World Series went through Texas of the Permian Basin NCAA.com

CHAMPS

PRESENTED BY Evan Gattis is a World Series champion. His long journey to the acme of the Major League Baseball world has been one of the more unique stories. It may have never happened if it weren't for his time with University of Texas of the Permian Basin. RELATED: The Texas native grew up on baseball, surrounded by some of today's greats playing for the Dallas Tigers, the premier amateur baseball team in Texas. Names like Corey Kluber and Clayton Kershaw were his teammates. Gattis was seemingly destined for big league stardom at an early age. He originally planned to attend Texas A&M, but life challenges got in his way. After years of wandering and soul searching, Gattis was ready to return to the sport he loved. His step-brother Drew Kendrick was pitching for UTPB in 2010. Kendrick could be the one credited with the rebirth of Gattis' baseball career. Gattis picked up right where he left off. He put together a First-Team All Heartland Conference season, hitting .403, tied for the lead with 19 doubles while raking 12 home runs. It was the monster power that those around him knew would get him drafted. "He was older so I knew there would be organizations that would say no, but I also knew that his power was unmistakable and that someone would take the chance on him," "Gerald Turner was the guy who took him in the 23rd round. He was with the Braves at that time and is now with the Blue Jays. Gerald came to watch him hit BP one day. Our park is big and the wind blows in every day from left field. Evan proceeded to hit 13 of 15 balls out of the park with wood. I knew then that he would be drafted that year. The rest was up to him." Gattis built strong relationships during his time at UTPB. He and his former head coach are still very close. The Braves made the playoffs that year and Gattis continued to rake. Though the legendary El Oso Blanco home runs weren't there, but he still hit .357 in the four-game series. Musgrove with a scoreless 10th!

Gattis to lead it off in the bottom half. — Houston Astros (@astros) and . His work has appeared on Bleacher Report, MLB.com, AJC.com, SB Nation and FoxSports.com and in publications like The Advocate and Lindy's Sports. Follow him on Twitter at . The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.