From No to Now: Garrett Baggs’ Unlikely Cheer Journey

Garrett Baggs never planned to be here.

Not on a cheer mat, not leading a room full of teammates and certainly not being asked to help build something from the ground up. Growing up in a small North Texas town just shy of the Oklahoma border, his world looked very different. Collinsville High School had around 30 students in his graduating class, and his time was filled with your typical basketball, track, really anything competitive to kept him moving.

Cheerleading wasn’t part of the plan.

Garrett said, recalling the first time the coach at Midwestern State reached out and asked him to consider joining the team.

The coach didn’t take no for an answer, continuing to reach out for months. Eventually, Garrett agreed to attend a clinic. It wasn’t a life-changing moment right away, but it was a door opening.

“I could tumble because I did gymnastics when I was younger,” he said. “She told me, ‘We’ll teach you the rest.’”

So, he said yes.

That hesitant decision set everything else in motion.

What started as uncertainty slowly turned into something more. At Midwestern State, Garrett found a sense of familiarity in an unfamiliar space: teammates, structure, shared goals. It reminded him of what he had always loved about sports, just in a different form.

Still, he didn’t immediately see where he fit.

That changed during his second year, when he took another leap, this time on his own terms.

Garrett started a choreography business, working with high school cheer teams preparing for UIL competition. It began with a single opportunity at a school where his mom worked. With just a month before competition, he reworked the entire routine. The team went on to place 10th in the state, an impressive finish and a defining moment for a choreographer just starting out.

Word spread. More schools reached out. What began as a one-time favor quickly turned into a growing passion, one that now includes more than 15 Texas high schools, with expansion beyond the state already underway.

It was another step forward, but also another opportunity for Garrett to grow.

By the time he transferred to Texas State, Garrett understood one thing clearly: he wasn’t walking in as the most experienced or the most technically advanced.

“I knew I wasn’t going to be the best,” he said. “I wasn’t a traditional coed guy.”

In a program where elite-level stunting often defines success, Garrett saw himself more aligned with performance, energy and crowd engagement. Game day cheer, a category focused on those strengths, felt like a natural fit.

There was just one problem.

Texas State didn’t compete in game day.

Each year, when it was time for the Bobcats to start preparing for the UCA College Cheerleading National Championship Garrett did something that would come to define his time in the program. He kept asking.

“For two years, I kind of begged for it,” he said. “And he [TXST Head Coach Ryan Riley] always said no.”

One day, that answer changed.

Garrett remembers the moment clearly. He walked into the office, something he did often between classes, and noticed his coach watching film. He recognized it immediately. Game day.

“I was like, ‘What are you doing?’” he said.

The answer caught him off guard.

Riley said.

The shift was immediate. What had once been a long-shot idea was suddenly real. Then came the next surprise.

Riley said, “I want you to choreograph it.”

For Garrett, the moment was overwhelming.

“Then the tears really started coming,” he said.

It wasn’t just excitement; it was the weight of what he was being asked to do. For someone who had once hesitated to even try cheer, this was something entirely different. Leadership.

The months that followed were defined by both passion and pressure. Garrett threw himself into the process, studying film for hours, building routines in his head, and constantly refining ideas. Choreography wasn’t something he could turn off. It followed him everywhere.

But alongside that commitment came doubt.

“I put a lot of pressure on myself,” he said. “If we didn’t do well, I knew people might look at me.”

He wasn’t just responsible for the routine, but he was leading teammates who, in many cases, had more experience or had been in the program longer. Asking them to trust him wasn’t easy.

“It was scary,” he admitted.

But something unexpected happened.

“They bought in right away.”

From the first day, Garrett’s teammates embraced the process. The focus shifted from hierarchy to trust, from uncertainty to a shared purpose. And the goal was simple. Create something new. Create something fun.

Game day routines, by design, are about energy, connection and performance. Garrett wanted it to feel like a break from the grind of traditional competition. A true chance to enjoy the moment.

That mindset carried into competition.

In their first year competing in one of the most competitive divisions, expectations were modest. Making finals would be a success. But as results began to unfold, hope grew.

“We were watching other teams and thinking, ‘We might stack up,’” Garrett said.

Then came the wait.

For hours, the team sat in the arena as announcements echoed over the speakers, each one heightening the tension. When their division was finally called, Garrett could barely contain the emotion.

“I just put my head down,” he said.

Then, in an instant, everything changed. Texas State was the first team announced for finals.

“It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders,” Garrett said.

The goal had been reached, but they weren’t finished. In finals, with the pressure gone, the team delivered one of their best performances. When it was over, Garrett took it all in, overwhelmed.

“I just started crying,” he said. “I knew that was the last time I’d be on that floor like that.”

The team finished seventh, a remarkable result for a first-year program.

Now, Garrett’s role is evolving again.

He’ll return not as a competitor, but as a choreographer, continuing to build on what the team started. Looking back, the full-circle moment isn’t lost on him.

Now, he’s helping shape the future of Texas State game day.

What once felt uncertain has become something steady. What once felt intimidating has become something he leads with confidence.

And that small-town athlete who once said “no” to cheerleading?

He’s now the one inspiring others to say yes.

In its first-ever appearance in the Small Coed D1A Gameday Division, the program delivered a standout performance against a competitive national field. The routine was co-choreographed by Garrett Baggs alongside the coaching staff. The Texas State spirit program features approximately 75 student-athletes overall, with 30 selected to participate in game day. In addition to the Small Coed Gameday Division, the team also competed in the D1A All-Girl and Small Coed divisions.

Tryouts for Texas State cheer and mascot teams take place May 8-10 to select 2026-27 teams.