OMAHA, Neb. – Auburn senior Brett Olson has been coming to Omaha since birth. It's home to his grandparents. It's where his dad became a high school baseball legend.
And it's where Brett will conclude his college baseball career with a title not even his famous father, Auburn standout Gregg Olson, could achieve: College World Series participant.
"I would have never thought that I would be going here as a player," said Brett, who attended the CWS in 2010, the event's final summer after six decades at Rosenblatt Stadium. "I went there as a kid and I looked up and thought, 'This must be so cool.' I looked up to those guys. Now, going to do it, it's surreal. It's exciting just getting to be a part of it all."
Watching Brett and the Tigers enter TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha for Friday's opening ceremonies filled his dad with pride – both civic and fatherly.
"I'm so happy that he can enjoy what I could not," said Gregg, who starred for the Tigers from 1986-1988 before being named American League Rookie of the Year in 1989. "It's been a lot of fun to hear what he's going through and what he's seeing. It's just an amazing event by an amazing group of people. Omaha is the College World Series and vice versa.
"For my son to be able to go through what I couldn't do, I'm so proud of them. I'm so proud of him."
Pitching for his father at Omaha Northwest High School, Gregg won four consecutive state titles, throwing a no-hitter in the championship game in '85 before attending Auburn.
For Gregg, summers meant two things: American Legion baseball and the College World Series.
"I would buy a scorebook at the beginning, and I'd literally sit outside of where the guys would come walking up the stairs to go out in the main hallway, and try to get every team, every guy," Gregg said. "I was here from the time I remember until the time I graduated high school."
Both Brett and Gregg know what it's like to have your father be a big name in baseball. Bill Olson, Gregg's dad and Brett's grandfather, won six state championships during a quarter-century of dominance at Omaha Northwest.
"It's unreal. It's unbelievable," said Bill, who served as the pitching coach at Creighton after retiring as a high school coach. "How many guys get to come to the World Series? You have a great son, and then you have a grandson who gets here, I'm so proud. He's a great ballplayer, but his biggest contribution is his attitude and his teamwork. I'm so proud of him and so proud of the coaches for understanding what he means to the team."
Nearly 60 years after his first coaching job in North Platte, Nebraska, Bill Olson still teaches the game at Ultmate Baseball Academy in Omaha, which he owns.
"Every year, he calls me up to say, 'UCLA is coming in to my academy,'" Gregg said. "Every year, somebody comes in when it rains and they need to work out. He knows every one of these guys coaching. He is so in tune. I'm not going to say that he is baseball in Omaha, but more than a thousand wins in high school, and 1,500-1,800 counting Legion ball. He's been here for more than 40 years doing baseball, so he is baseball here."
Brett has reached base in both of his at-bats this season, drawing a walk and hitting a single. On a team with no scholarship seniors, Olson's greatest contribution comes in the leadership he provides to younger teammates.
"We never give up. We never give in, every second," Brett said. "The Saturday game against UNC was a great example. We went down 3-0 early and we didn't give up. We didn't stop and we just kept going. We're a bunch of grinders. I know we'll never quit until the last out is made."
Closing in on his master's degree in mechanical engineering, Brett Olson is writing a storybook ending. The tale of a baseball family, an Omaha family, an Auburn family.
"He had a 4.0 in the spring in three mechanical engineering master's classes," Gregg said. "I'm shocked. I'm stunned. He's one of those guys who's just a great overall person. If baseball ends next week, worst case scenario, his run is going to be as good as mine, what he's done here."
"It just makes it that much more special that that's where my dad grew up, that's where my grandparents are," Brett said. "That's where family is. Going back to that place, and that being the last place I'll put cleats on for this team is something special. I'm excited."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer