Former Cincinnati Reds second baseman and MLB Hall of Fame candidate, Brandon Phillips, and serial entrepreneur, Jade Cargill, are thrilled to announce the formation of the Texas Smoke.
Texas Smoke will be the second professional sports team in Austin and the fourth franchise in Women’s Professional Fastpitch (WPF).
Brandon Phillips is a World Series Champion (Boston Red Sox, 2018). He has 17 years of major league experience playing for the Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox. Phillips is a 3-time MLB All-Star, 4-time Gold Glove winner, Silver Slugger Award winner, 30-30 Club Member, and is currently an MLB Hall of Fame candidate.
Professional wrestler, Jade Cargill, is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where she is the inaugural and current AEW TBS Champion. Her ongoing reign is the longest reign of any AEW championship over 400 days.
Rivera hails from Eagle Lake, Florida, and is proud to be a 2017 Gold Medalist for the USA Junior Women’s National Team and a 2019 Bronze Medalist for the Puerto Rico National Team.
She was one of just six student athletes at Auburn to record more than 200 career hits.
Academically, her bachelor’s degree was in Business Management and she minored in Entrepreneurship and Family Business in May 2020. Thanks to her COVID year, she also received her second bachelor’s in Business Marketing in May 2021. She was actually named an NFCA All-American Scholar Athlete!
Rivera is an Assistant Coach for Hampton University where she lives and breathes fastpitch. She is a strong advocate for mental health, who brings high energy and is the hype man everyone needs.