At a young age, Javier Vaz — Javy for short — played just about any sport you could think of. His father, Roberto, was a star for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He was a two-way star and became a Golden Spikes finalist before eventually being drafted in the 7th round by the Oakland Athletics. His mother, Stephanie, knew very little about baseball before she met Roberto.
Vaz was born in Huntsville, Alabama on September 22, 2000. He attended Huntsville High School, followed by two years at junior college LSU Eunice. He transferred after his sophomore year to Vanderbilt where he finished out his NCAA career and went on to be drafted in the 15th round of the 2022 draft by the Kansas City Royals.