Meet Ken Crenshaw and Matt Lucero: New Mexico natives are head trainers for World Series teams

Oct. 28—While the world is watching for high heat, bat flips, diving catches and monster home runs from the stars of the Texas Rangers and Arizona Diamondbacks during the 2023 World Series, a couple of New Mexico boys and New Mexico State alum have a different focus.

Carrizozo's Ken Crenshaw and Santa Fe's Matt Lucero are watching those same players from the dugouts, but they'll be looking for pain as much as joy.

The two Aggies — Crenshaw, the director of sports medicine and performance for the D-backs, and Lucero, the head athletic trainer for the Rangers — lead both teams' athletic training operations. Both played key roles in their teams navigating their way from spring training to the Fall Classic that began Friday night in Arlington, Texas.

And now, with each being within reach of Major League Baseball's ultimate prize, they are proud to also be representing an astonishingly high number of fellow former Aggies in their profession.

At least 10 NMSU graduates this season were head or assistant athletic trainers in MLB or in top leadership positions of minor league athletic training programs — and six of those are New Mexico natives.

"Me and Matt were just talking about that," Crenshaw told the Journal Thursday. "I told him, 'Hey, no matter who wins or loses, it's not going to be the Dodgers or the Astros. It'll be one of our teams and it'll be you or me — one of the Aggies.' So that's really cool."

Yes, there will be an Aggie tapping into his old college fight song roots this week, wobbling in his shoes as he celebrates his role in winning the World Series.

There is a strong, though rather unlikely, bond that the graduates of the sports medicine program from New Mexico State University — a school, and in a state, not known for producing many big-league players — have forged through the years as they have quietly constructed one of the more prolific pipelines to MLB employment for those in the profession of athletic training.

"(The program at NMSU) was a really good one back when I was there," Lucero, a 1993 NMSU graduate, said. "It was really good. In fact, you didn't even have to interview for jobs. If your name came out of that program, you were probably getting the job, regardless."

The 54-year-old Lucero and 55-year-old Crenshaw, a 1990 graduate who got his first job in professional baseball with a Pittsburgh Pirates short-season team in Arizona some 35 years ago, endured the lean years of NMSU football — OK, until recently, they've almost all been lean years. But both thrived in the highly respected NMSU athletic training program that gave so many students hands-on experience with the Aggie teams.

Both rattled off names from the 1980s and 1990s such as Rick Mendinini, George Westbrook, Leah Putnam and Mike O'Larey, who were the leaders, mentors and foundation of the NMSU program at the time. But each also made clear: The influence of a motivated peer group through the years was the biggest reason they've all found so much success.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool, man," Crenshaw said. "It's one of our sources of pride. As much as we used to get thumped in football, we're like, 'well, at least we have a good athletic training program.'

"We've always supported each other and we actually helped each other grow back in college. So, as you venture out into the baseball world, we still see each other and stay connected, and you want to see your fellow former Aggies do well."

Change of direction

Crenshaw, whose dad, Bobby, was an NMSU football player and 1967 seventh-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, went to NMSU on a football scholarship out of Carrizozo, but said he instead had hopes of walking on to the basketball team.

Neither worked out as he tore his ACL and spent a year rehabilitating it and falling in love with the process, shifting his focus to sports medicine.

For Lucero, while always active in sports and intramurals, he was planning to major in astronomy, of all things, before an intervention of sorts from an older friend from Santa Fe — and fellow member of the MLB/NMSU athletic trainers fraternity.

"Ron Porterfield (currently the director of player health for the Los Angeles Dodgers) — I roomed with his brother — so Ron would come around a whole bunch," Lucero recalls. "We were good friends. He knew I liked sports because we played intramurals together — flag football, softball, basketball and all that good stuff.

"Finally, he just asked me, 'Why aren't you doing what I'm doing, sports medicine?' I didn't really even know about sports medicine. So, he basically introduced me to it. I took a class and the rest is history. I loved it."

Enemy within?

As many New Mexico sports fans know, the Rangers have another, maybe more well-known name on the roster from the Land of Enchantment.

La Cueva High School and UNM graduate Mitch Garver has been a key piece of the postseason for Texas this year.

So, is there ever any rivalry issues between the former Lobo and former Aggie inside the walls of Rangers clubhouse?

"When he first came on, you know, we introduced each other, obviously. I told him I was from New Mexico, too," Lucero said. "When you're from New Mexico, you know, you talk about the colleges, maybe a little bit of joking around at first, but the conversations almost always gravitate to the two things people love about New Mexico: the mountains and the chile. That's always a common ground. The Lobo-Aggie thing didn't come up too much."

What do you do?

There is a photo taken at baseball's 2022 Winter Meetings of 10 trainers who came through the NMSU athletic training program. The titles many of them carry today vary, though are all based in the same sports medicine roots.

In particular, Crenshaw's role with the Diamondbacks through the years has grown into far more than just athletic training and strength and conditioning.

An article published earlier this month by MLB.com's Steve Gilbert, who has covered the Diamondbacks for well over a decade, summed up Crenshaw's role, and cumbersome job title of director of sports medicine and performance, this way in his first two paragraphs:

"Let's get this straight right from the start: There's no way this story can sum up everything there is to know about Ken Crenshaw. It can't even give the full measure of what he's meant to individual players or staff members and their development.

"Heck, even the D-backs can't find a way to describe it when it comes to his title."

The story went on to quote both manager Torey Lovullo and the organization's executive vice president and general manager Mike Hazen as saying Crenshaw's influence on the day-to-day operations is evident throughout the entire organization.

"He is our director of medical services by title, but he is so much more than that," Lovullo said. "He is a connector of people. He is a friend to all of us, and he's a culture creator and a culture driver."

Added Hazen of Crenshaw: "His influence on our systems and how we operate in the clubhouse and in our hiring practices, the people we bring on, how we develop our employees, it's immeasurable what he does. And that's not even talking about the success we've had with our medical staff in general in terms of rehab returns, in terms of successful surgeries and in terms of keeping guys on the field. He's incredible at what he does, and we're lucky to have him."

Time to wobble

Crenshaw and Lucero are each hoping to enjoy some locker room champagne celebrations with their teams after a World Series win — maybe even doing some wobbling in their shoes for all their former Aggie friends and classmates.

Both, after all, admitted they didn't just enjoy their time at New Mexico State for the wonderful career paths they've been able to embark on, but for the enjoyable out-of-classroom memories, too.

"The school is great. I still love the people down there," Lucero said. "It was such a good time at house parties, playing intramurals ... the football team was terrible, so we spent more time tailgating. The basketball teams were really good back then. I remember that was a really good time watching games then.

"It was it was a super fun college. And I guess I probably didn't get serious about school until I did discover the sports medicine stuff. But in all honesty, I found the sports medicine stuff really easy because it was so interesting. You know, if you have an interest in something, it becomes easy."

Crenshaw has similarly fond memories.

"Probably too much (partying sometimes)," Crenshaw admitted with a chuckle. "But we had a great group of athletic trainers and we just did everything together. We partied together, but we worked hard together too. And it was an unbelievable time. For my college experience, I couldn't ask for anything better."