Emilee Prado
With the Carroll baseball team facing the same district opponents on Tuesdays and again on Fridays in the same week, the opposing team and their fans probably had to do a double-take at the mound during Friday match-ups. Thoughts of “Didn’t we just face this guy?” likely ensued, along with questions regarding how a team could start the same pitcher two games in a row and on just three days’ rest.
It’s an easy mistake to make for the casual observer. Other than a slight height difference, Carroll’s starting pitching rotation this season can be hard to tell apart. Identical twin brothers Jared and Tyler White (6-foot-3 and 6-foot-5, respectively) have ruled the mound this spring, providing solid pitching for a Dragons team that’s posted a combined 14-1 record when either takes the mound. Even their ERAs are an identical 0.92 as of our reporting.
Occasionally, even their teammates get briefly confused with who’s who.
“Sometimes I slip up and call (the wrong one) Tyler and the other one Jared,” says Eric Thiel, Carroll senior first baseman and catcher. “But I’m around them a lot, so I can normally recognize them.”
Eric says there’s another way Carroll teammates can barely tell them apart, but it’s when comparing them with their pitching predecessors — and that’s a huge compliment. The sibling hurlers have proven as steady and reliable as the Dragons’ ace tandem of Owen Proksch and Griffin Herring, Division I college recruits who led Carroll to the 6A state title in 2022 and are currently making names for themselves at Duke and LSU, respectively.
“It’s just like Owen and Griffin last year — they’re both automatic,” Thiel says of the White twins. “They’ll give up one, maybe two runs a game, and it’s really easy to play with a lead. If we give them the lead, we’re really comfortable with them pitching and going the whole game.”
The brothers’ leadership roles for one of the premier high school baseball programs in the country are the result of years of practice and development in the sport. Some aspects of the game came naturally. Others had to be developed, and a series of setbacks had to be overcome along the way. But that determination and competitive drive has brought the two right-handers down to this point as seniors — starting pitchers and key components in the Dragons’ quest to make another run at a state championship.
“It means that Coach [Larry Vucan] trusts us and that we can come into any situation when we’re starting the games and he won’t have to worry about us,” Jared says, who posted an 8-1 record with 56 strikeouts during the regular season. “It’s going in with a mindset of a winner’s mentality. If we go up there and do our thing, we’re going to win the game.”
“You get to go out there and it’s you versus the hitter every time you’re out there,” added Tyler (6-0, 74 strikeouts). “It’s just a lot of fun.”
Brothers In Arms And Legs
Over the years, Carroll has had many brothers and sisters come through the athletics program, some playing on the same team together, and even a few twins have made the same roster as well. But twin teammates playing key roles in multiple Dragon sports in the same season is a rare phenomenon.
As good as the White brothers are on the mound, both have also made names for themselves by playing critical roles for Carroll’s football team. Tyler became a top national football recruit, providing field goal proficiency as well as strong performances in kickoffs and punts. Jared added excellent punting skills for the Dragons his senior season, and both received notice from colleges as a result.
Tyler’s achievements in his junior and senior seasons — completing a combined 153-of-155 PATs and 17-of-19 field goals, including a school-record 55-yarder — allowed him to become a two-time All-American and the first five-star punter-kicker recruit in the history of the rankings.
“He was just such a weapon,” Carroll coach Riley Dodge says of Tyler, a Texas A&M signee. “Several times this past year, I’d yell for a field goal, and it would be a very ‘casual’ 48-yarder. And he and I would laugh at it. Either during the game or the next day, I’d tell him, ‘I didn’t realize that that was a 48-yarder.’ And he’d say the same thing. I trust in the kid, and he trusts in me that I’m going to put him in those opportunities that might be stressful to most.”
Field goal and special team kicking were things Tyler showed a knack for since junior high. After attending a couple of national kicking camps, he was soon ranked No. 1 in the U.S., a rise that occurred quicker than he or his family ever expected.
Meanwhile, Jared was a punter in middle school who turned his focus solely to baseball upon entering high school. After injuries kept him off the diamond for much of his sophomore and junior seasons, Jared returned to Dragon football as a senior to provide punting services, averaging 43.2 yards per kick, including a long of 55 yards.
Those numbers were enough to pique college interest in Jared, who also ranked in the Top 10 in the nation for punting after attending kicking camps. Although committed to Tyler Junior College on a baseball scholarship, Jared was also offered the chance to punt for the college football team. Tyler will also try his hand at both sports. With the kicking gig at A&M already set, he’ll have a chance to compete for a pitching spot for the Aggies as well.
Playing in both sports at different schools after graduation will be an adjustment for the brothers, who have competed on the same team since they were kids. Jared even held for Tyler on field goals and PATs under the Friday night lights this past fall. Dodge said composure in executing the process was something the twins made look easy, and that same approach appears to be evident as they’ve pitched this spring.
“Both are cut from the same cloth,” Dodge says of the brothers. “When you’re a kicker or a punter, you’re kind of an island and you’re out there by yourself. But I think the mentality as a kicker and as a pitcher is very similar — ‘I am the man.’
“You’re on the mound, or you’re behind the deep snapper 15 yards deep and everybody’s watching you. You have to be a pretty stable and competitive guy to do both.”
Jared said the importance of the kicking game isn’t taken seriously by some high school football programs, but the chance that he and his brother have had to provide a spark in a sometimes overlooked — yet crucial — aspect of the game has appealed to him.
“People don’t realize how many games we win by just a few points,” Jared says. “We only beat Keller (this past fall) by three points, and without (Tyler’s) field goal — and in pretty bad conditions — we wouldn’t have won that game.”
Tyler knows well the work that goes into improving technique and developing consistency as a kicker. He’s thankful for the future opportunities that opened up as a result of attending camps and kicking at Carroll.
“What guy doesn’t want to grow up and play college football? It was always my dream,” Tyler says. “After the 55-yard field goal... I really started to get recruited by all the bigger schools.”
Tyler also received football scholarship offers from The University of Miami and The University of Texas at Austin.
Sibling Rivalry, Shifting Spotlight
Attention from college scouts and Division I schools was not something either brother owned outright while growing up. The twins didn’t often find themselves sharing the spotlight either in their early teenage years. The buzz started on the baseball field around eighth grade as Jared, an early bloomer, began to find his groove on the mound.
The twins’ father, Martin White, was also a baseball pitcher and football kicker for a small yet dominant high school team in New Mexico and later played football at the University of New Mexico. He placed his sons on baseball teams with kids one to two years older, forcing them to deal with tougher competition. His strategy paid off in the long run.
“I always kind of liked them being in the middle-to-bottom half as far as talent on the team they were on,” Martin says. “I always wanted to put them in adverse situations, and I never really started seeing them stand out much until that eighth- or ninth-grade year.
“Jared was the earliest to bloom — and it’s crazy looking back — but he got over 20 Power Five (Top 5 college conferences) Division-I offers for baseball between eighth and ninth grade.”
However, his father notes that things were a little bit different for Tyler.
“We visited a lot of different places, and Tyler just wasn’t ready,” Martin says. “He was close, but he just wasn’t ready for the offers. He didn’t get the recruiting, and it bothered him. But it really drove him.”
While Jared made Carroll’s varsity baseball team as a freshman, Tyler’s disappointment continued when he was sent down to JV. But the demotion didn’t last long, as Tyler returned and ultimately led the team in pitching appearances as a freshman.
Jared led the team in innings pitched that same season, but his fortunes would soon change. Injuries plagued Jared to start his sophomore year, and a temporary return as a starter ended with another injury. It was his elbow, and Tommy John surgery put him out of commission his entire junior season.
Meanwhile, Tyler’s star rose fast with accolades and records set as a kicker that junior year, leading to Division I offers and an invitation to the high school football All-American game, as Jared could only watch and wait to return to the field.
“Jared all of a sudden is in the back seat of his own house,” Martin says. “The adversity at times, whichever one it was affecting — and it’s flip-flopped — it really made them what they are today.”
The 2022 baseball season was fun to watch but agonizing at the same time for Jared, who was confined to the bench and unable to participate. Tyler had his share of appearances and saves in relief of pitching stars Proksch and Herring during the regular season, but his involvement was limited for most of Carroll’s playoff run.
However, Tyler had an unforgettable moment in the state championship game against San Antonio Reagan when he entered in relief in the sixth inning and then finished with a strikeout for the last out in the seventh to help the Dragons clinch their third title in the past four UIL postseasons.
“I just went out there and told myself... I’m just going to throw it right down the middle and let them hit it right back at one of our guys and hopefully celebrate with the team. And that’s exactly what happened,” Tyler says. “That was so surreal in the moment, I’ll never forget that. Being at the bottom of that dogpile... with 40 guys on the roster, it’s a little heavy down there.”
Tyler was more than willing to exchange a little discomfort to enjoy playoff glory with his teammates. Jared likewise was willing to forget his disappointment and celebrate his brother and his team’s accomplishment, being the first to run out from the dugout and reach the mound.
It was just a snapshot example of the way the brothers support each other, despite the competitiveness and healthy rivalry the two often display.
“There’s some inner competition, for sure,” says coach Vucan, who’s had them on his baseball roster for four seasons. “They love to razz each other. They’re always talking about things like ‘My ERA is lower’ and ‘Well, my strikeouts are higher.’ So they’re getting after each other all the time.
“But that brotherly love aspect is definitely there, and they’re the biggest supporters of each other. I know it because when one’s standing at the rail, and the other guy — Jared or Tyler — is out on the mound, the other one is just rooting like heck for him. ‘Come on, you got this,’ and stuff like that. That element of it is pretty special.”
Unfinished Business
Despite missing nearly two seasons due to injuries, Jared has looked no worse for wear when delivering pitches in Carroll contests this spring. He’s even developed a change-up to go with his trusty curveball and two-seam fastball. The Tuesday starter throughout district, he’s back to being the leader in innings pitched this season.
Tyler meanwhile brings his slider and fastball as consistent weapons, and both hurlers bring confidence to the mound in their new roles in the spotlight. The brothers’ level of play has teammates taking notice.
“I think having them on the mound shows everyone the type of consistency and presence you need to bring every day,” senior infielder Ben Tryon says, who led the team with 20 RBIs late in the regular season. “We know that every time they come out, they’re going to show for us.”
Coach Vucan is pleased his current pitchers have successfully taken the baton passed to them by the Dragons’ former star pitchers. For Jared and Tyler, it’s validation that time spent healing or in relief behind their predecessors was not wasted. Both worked to better themselves and now have a chance to help Carroll make a legitimate run at defending their title.
“I think they want it — I definitely know that their hearts are into it,” coach Vucan says. “I think this is a culmination of those four years of toil... They are dead set on making this the stamp on their four years, essentially, of good and bad. Both of them have gone through ups and downs, but no one’s rooting for them more than I am.”
The key to closing out their memorable career at Carroll is simple — more of the same hard work that got them here in the first place. And if there’s anything Jared and Tyler know about, it’s dedication and hard work.
“I think the chances are great in our favor,” Jared says. “If we just keep on doing what we’re doing and being the best we can be, there’s nobody in the state better than us. I think we’re more prepared than any other team in the state. If we keep that up, we have a better chance than anybody.”