In 2009 Matt Eureste played second base at St. Pius X High School in Houston as a sophomore. His older brother Ray, a senior, played shortstop. The two found themselves just yards from each other in the Texas State Championship with the lead and two outs in the ninth inning. A fly ball to center field later, the Eureste’s were Texas state champions. Together.
Since Matt was 4 years old, he and Ray were inseparable.
“I consider him one of my best friends,” Ray said.
Now, the brothers were champions. But after that game, the two who had virtually followed the same path their entire lives, took two entirely different ones. Following the 2009 state title game and graduation, Ray moved to Thibodaux, Louisiana to play baseball at Nicholls State — 315 miles away from Houston – where he’d stay for four years.
The next season, Matt batted .378 with three home runs — earning first team all-district and all-state. He committed to play college baseball at Sam Houston State when the season was over. But Matt, unlike his brother, took an unconventional path that included many stops along the way — ranging from different cities in Texas to New England. Now, he’s found home in Eugene, Oregon.

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Matt was born into a baseball family.

“We sleep and breathe baseball,” his father, Dan, said.

Matt followed in his brother’s footsteps. The brothers shared friends growing up. They played and competed with each other — both were shortstops. And when either had a travel tournament, the other came to watch.
“I wanted to follow after him a lot,” Matt said. “So whatever he did, I did.”
After one year of T-ball for Ray, Matt started playing.
“Matt was always trying to compete with (Ray),” Dan said. “He was always trying to catchup with the bigger guys.”
Matt was “more of a natural,” Dan said, and had no problem adventuring to the higher level to play with Ray. The two were competitive towards each other. Still, Dan “never saw them have a little scuffle.” Front-yard basketball demonstrated the ultimate showdown. There’d be a winner, and a loser. But, according to Ray, whoever lost had to play another game.
Matt hit .420 with seven home runs in his final high school season and the Cleveland Indians drafted him in the 40th round in Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft. Even though Matt’s whole senior season was thought to lead to Sam Houston State, things changed. The coaches at Sam Houston State were leaving, and as a result, so too left Matt’s commitment.
He didn’t sign with the Indians, either.
“We had to go through some arbitration stuff to get him to another school,” Dan said. “Texas Tech picked him up towards the end of our baseball season.”
Matt was interested in going to Texas Tech. But, it was short lived. Under Texas Tech head coach Dan Spencer, Matt hit the field in just 10 games his freshman season. He hit .333 with two RBIs.
In March 2012, he cut the extensor tendon in his left ring finger in an off-field incident — a season-ending injury. Days later, Texas Tech suspended Matt for a “violation of team rules,” Tech officials stated. Specifics of the violation were not released.
“He learned a hard lesson,” Dan said.
Matt explained that “personal issues” and “getting used to college, finding my way” led to the violation. Matt never played for Texas Tech again.
So he transferred to San Jacinto Community College in Pasadena, Texas and hit .262 with one home run, 21 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. But Matt’s lone year of community college eligibility came to an end. His future was uncertain for the first time. He began to look for his third school in three years, which was a challenge Ray never faced.
“I stressed to him about it — getting to play baseball is an honor,” Ray said. “You should always take advantage of it. When it’s over, it’s over.”
Matt caught the eye of a Cape Cod League scout after working out at a Boston Red Sox camp during the summer. He signed a 10-day contract with the Falmouth Commodores.
He suited up for 32 games. Matt became a Cape Cod League All-Star — hitting .292 with three home runs.
Oregon’s Shaun Chase and Garrett Cleavinger were also on the team.
“When I first met him I didn’t even know he went to a junior college, I thought he was another D1 player,” Chase said.
To Chase, Matt “raked” and played good defense. It prompted a call to Mark Wasikowski, Oregon’s assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
Wasikowski first heard of Matt through Tom Arrington, a personal friend of Wasikowski’s and San Jacinto’s head coach. But now he was hearing about him through Chase as well as Brad Stoll, an assistant in the Cape Cod League. So Wasikowski became focused on Matt. After losing players to graduation in 2014, third base was empty.
“He was doing great (in the Cape Cod League),” Wasikowski said. “We had a need.”
Matt, on the other hand, never talked to anyone Oregon-related before. Nor had he ever visited the west coast, let alone Eugene. Matt’s family, too, “didn’t know anything about Oregon,” Dan said.
“I don’t know how it came about,” Dan said.  “It was kind of a shock to us.”
Despite that Matt had many other offers — and offering more money than Oregon — he still felt that Oregon was the school he wanted to attend.
“It was nice to see a kid that was that quality available as late as it was during the summer,” Wasikowski said. “We caught a break.”
As Matt’s junior season found its home, he, Chase and Cleavinger established friendships on the streets of Cape Cod.
“Shaun is definitely the best karaoke singer, by far, on the team,” Matt said. “We had a couple of karaoke nights out there in the Cape.”
In his first time on the west coast and in the state of Oregon, Matt is playing his first season at third base and as the leadoff hitter.
“I thank (Cleavinger) and Shaun every day for making this happen for me.”
Through 41 games, Matt is hitting .266 with 19 RBIs and 42 hits — tied for first on the team.
This past weekend when Oregon traveled to Los Angeles to play University of Southern California, Ray, Dan and two other family members, sat at Dedeaux Field, watching Matt in an Oregon uniform for the first time.
“I love it here, I thank god every day for this opportunity,” Matt said.
Follow Andrew Bantly on Twitter @andrewbantly