Dancing atop the dugouts in Minute Maid Park, Ashley Byars is a proud representative of Austin County in her fourth season as a Houston Astros Shooting Star. For the Sealy High School graduate, her unlikely career at the ballpark began with a passion for baseball that she developed as a kid.

“Growing up, my dad actually took me to Astros games when we were in our old-school jerseys; the black, red and white. So, I knew about baseball but I was just a kid. I went for the ice cream in the baseball helmet and just the experience, but now I’m so invested,” said Byars.

While she did have a brief stint as an SHS cheerleader, Byars preferred enjoying the Friday night games from the bleachers.

“I cheered only one year when I was in Sealy and I only made the team because there weren’t enough girls that tried out. So, I was just lucky. After I cheered, I realized that I kind of enjoyed the dancing more than cheering,” said Byars. “I was more concerned with being in the stands and watching the game than participating.”

Although she had given up cheering in high school, the San Felipe native’s passion for stirring up excitement in crowds was reignited when she attended the 2017 World Series Parade. Now, four years later, she’ll be on the field eliciting noise to cheer on the Astros in the 2021 World Series.

“I was going to Blinn at the time and I actually told my friends from Sealy, ‘Hey let’s go to the World Series Parade.’ I went, and I was like wait, I kind of want to do that,” explained Byars. “I told my dad the day before tryouts at dinner, I was like ‘Hey, I’m trying out for the Astros, I’m auditioning.’ He was like, ‘What? For the team?’”

Although Byars made the decision to audition for the Shooting Stars only a week before the tryouts in 2017, she has stuck with it for four years now and says her work brings her unmatched feelings of excitement and fulfillment.

When describing how it feels to cheer in front of over 30,000 passionate fans at Minute Maid Park, Byars said, “It is an adrenaline rush. I definitely will say that I know I’m not sick of it because I get scared every time before I go on the dugout. I do it multiple times a week and I still get so nervous. Even my teammates will see me and my hands are shaking. I get nervous every time before I go up there. When I’m up there, it’s a feeling I can’t even explain. It makes me happy; I look forward to going to work.”

Byars’ love for baseball goes beyond her position as a Shooting Star; she hopes to follow her passion into her future career. Byars recently graduated from the University of Houston in the summer of 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a focus on sports and a minor in English. She plans to continue her work in the sports industry with hopes of pursuing a position related to sports journalism.

Byars explained that while she is cheering under the bright lights at Minute Maid in a big city like Houston, she is very thankful for her small-town roots.

“I would just say a big thank you to Sealy and specifically my hometown, San Felipe. It’s so small, but I would say that I’m just so grateful,” said Byars. “Even my parent’s neighbor, Ms. Ludwig, she saw me grow up and she’s proud of me. The people who lived across the street from us are proud of me. So, I think it’s just a big thing. They saw me out there in our front yard in overalls growing up (and) now I’m at games and stuff. I’m just so appreciative of growing up in a small town and having a small-town experience.”