Get to know Luke Olson

here?

Olson: I think so. I think being on campus is a lot different for me. There’s 250 kids in my high school, so I knew every single person. I’ll go to class and I won’t know somebody, I think it’s awesome. I can just blend in and be Luke, not everyone knows every single thing about me. It’s different.

TP: Do you have any favorite spots in Athens that you’ve discovered?

Olson: I spend so much time in The Convo and the field, I don’t really have a ton of free time, but I like it. I guess the locker room. I spend a lot of time there (laughs).

TP: What are three things people could find in your locker besides gloves and baseball kinds of things?

Olson: I have headphones in there. I have these Nike Burrow slippers that I wear all the time that I probably shouldn’t be wearing around, but I wear them all over. I always have my JUCO clothes in there, I pretty much wear that, but that’s it.

TP: You mentioned headphones, are you a big music listener?

er stuff like Gunna and YoungBoy. I also listen to like Morgan Wallen and stuff like that.

TP: Are you a new country or an old country fan?

Olson: I would say newer, but I’ll listen to the 2000s and 2010s. I like Darius Rucker a lot, but I tend to go toward the Wallen or Luke Combs newer stuff. Hardy’s good too.

TP: I could just see you on your deserted island with your surfboard listening to some Darius Rucker up. He’s like my favorite.

Olson: (Laughs) I should bring a beatbox, that’s what I should do. Or bring my AirPods, that’d be fine.

TP: Yeah! My last question for you is what is something you wish people knew about you? Do you have any hidden talents or anything?

Olson: Me and Dillon Masters spend a lot of time slinging the football around. We may be able to make a run if there are walk-on tryouts. Don’t count us out. We have a lot of fun with the football. I’d say that’s a hidden talent.

TP: Yeah, so you talked about your glove. Why did you start playing baseball?

Olson: My dad used to coach when I was younger. He coached junior high and high school. After school when I was younger, I would go to practices and I’d hang out there. I always wanted to be like the guys that he coached. It was always cool for me to be in the dugout during games and practices. I fell in love with being at the ballpark and I’ve never wanted to not be there.

TP: That’s cool. You’re from a small town, right? Did you have like sandlot teams? Are there any professional teams you like?

Olson: I’m a (Chicago) Cubs fan. Me and my friends used to play in a little lot that was empty all the time which was cool. We just played wiffle ball. Being from a small area, there’s not a ton to do, so you’ve got to just make do with what you have. We had an empty lot, a wiffle ball and a bat, so we’d play whenever we could.

TP: I get it. My hometown is itty bitty. I’m a big drive-around-for-fun person.

Olson: Mine had like 1,300 people so we’d literally drive to Walmart for fun. People don’t get it if they’re not from a small town. That is fun.

TP: Athens is kind of a small town, do you feel like you’ve grown used to the energy

Olson: Yeah. I listen to a lot of country because that’s what everybody listens to when I’m back home, but I also listen to new-