Troy Neel, former Brazoswood baseball hero-turned-fugitive, jailed for failing to pay $724K in child support

The Texas Attorney General's Office, which has been after ex-Major Leaguer and Brazoswood High grad Troy Neel for not paying child support since 2005, finally got their man three days ago after he arrived in LA on a flight from Sydney, Australia.

The feds put the cuffs on him.

Neel was a hometown hero in Brazosport when he helped lead Brazoswood High to the the state baseball championship in 1984. He played football at Texas A&M, too, before playing pro hardball.

Texas A.G. Greg Abbot said Neel had been living on a private island in the South Pacific and owes $724,325 in back child support.

Background:

In 1998, Neel was ordered to pay $5,000 a month for the support for his son and daughter. The child support order was based on Neel’s earnings as a professional athlete.

On March 2, 2005, a San Antonio-based federal grand jury indicted Neel. The indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, alleges that Neel has traveled in foreign commerce since December 1998 in order to avoid paying child support for two children.

Neel remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service awaiting transfer to the Western District of Texas. Upon conviction, Neel faces up to two years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine.

Neel, born in Freeport, played three seasons in the major leagues and later played in Japan. He was drafted in the 9th round (pick #208) in 1986. His astrological sign is Virgo.

Baseball-reference.com summed up his career thusly:

Troy Neel played three years in the majors leagues from 1992-1994 but gained his most fame in baseball as a star in Japan. Prior to his major league days, he was in the minors from 1986-1992, and then after the majors he came back in 1998 for 14 more games in the minors.
Although he sometimes showed good power in the minors, he didn't hit .300 until 1992, when he posted impressive numbers of .351/~.439/.586. It got him 24 games in the big leagues with the Oakland Athletics, where he hit .264 with a .491 slugging percentage.
That earned him a starting position in 1993 with the A's, and he hit .290 with 19 home runs. He was seventh in the Rookie of the Year voting.
In 1994, he hit 15 home runs in 83 games, with a .266 batting average.
Starting in 1995, he played several years for the Orix Blue Wave in Japan, leading the league in homers and RBI in 1996. He led the league in 1997 in strikeouts. Released after the 1997 season, Orix signed him again in 1998 when they struggled early in the season.
In 1998, he came back to America for 14 AAA games, hitting .244, but getting lots of walks and slugging .600.
In 1999, he was back in Japan, but missed about half of the games due to injury.