Taylor Shui ‘24 has begun her fourth season with the Houston Astros and her second season as a full-time employee. Before becoming an integration engineer in the research and development department, Shui majored in both computer science and also sport analytics at Rice.
Shui said it was in Dr. Hua Gong’s Advanced Sport Analytics class (SMGT 431), taken during her sophomore year, when she realized that she could actually pursue a career in baseball. Attending the Women in Sports Data Symposium in August 2022, which featured panels showcasing professionals from a wide variety of both sports and jobs, further emphasized the possibility of pursuing a technical role.
“I just never realized I could secure a job in baseball that wasn't what you see on TV like being a scout or a general manager,” Shui said. “I discovered that there are technical jobs in baseball that fit my skill set. Dr. Gong's class helped set me up on that track.”
Her first opportunity with the Astros was as a business strategy and analytics intern during the 2022 season. She credits much of her journey to the professors in the Department of Sport Management.
“Professor Stallings was a really big help with that,” Shui said. “He helped me prepare and was very encouraging. Then after I got that first job, everything just kind of led to where I am now.”
In that first season, Shui said one of her favorite memories was being in the park when Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez hit a three-run home run to put the Astros ahead of the Philadelphia Phillies in game 6 of the World Series.
“The crowd went crazy when he hit that home run,” Shui said. “It was such a towering shot and everyone knew it was going out.”
A few days later, Shui was a part of the Astros World Series parade celebrating their title. Even as an intern, the Astros made sure Shui was on a float.
During that first season, Shui was also able to connect with staffers on the baseball operations side and applied to become a research and development apprentice for the 2023 season, working as a member of the Astros' team of developers. Shui credits both her connections and her confidence to helping her secure the apprenticeship.
“Once you've had your first job, or you've been doing the same thing for a while, you establish yourself as someone who can say, ‘Hey, I know what I'm talking about’,” Shui said. “That was the biggest thing I felt changed going from when I first started as a sophomore to my senior year to now.”
The apprenticeship transitioned Shui from the business side to the baseball operations side and lasted from January to December 2023. Shui then received a full-time offer to become a junior integration engineer and has been full-time with the team since her graduation in May 2024.
Now, as an integration engineer, Shui works with both analysts and developers, often serving as the “middleman” between the two R&D groups. One of her job responsibilities is to assist with the productization of internal models.
“We talk with the analysts, get the models in a good place before they're handed off to the developers,” Shui said.
“I really think working in sports is just such a unique experience,” Shui said. “Although you're working in a similar role that you'd be able to find in almost any other industry, working in baseball still manages to have its quirks that make it such a fun and rewarding experience.”
Kathleen Ortiz, a junior from Kingwood, Texas, is majoring in Social Policy Analysis and also Sport Management with a concentration in Sport Law.