The Local Kid

Slugging With a Dream

 

It all started on the Wiffle Ball field outside of Oracle Park.

My mom was a big San Francisco Giants fan, and I remember making the trip out to the stadium every once in a while when we lived in Reno. Barry Bonds was still playing at the time, and I quickly fell in love with the game. I was three years old running around in our backyard trying to match his slash line—just a kid with big dreams and more energy than I knew what to do with really.

But as I grew older, I started to appreciate the competitiveness of the sport. Ted Williams once said, “Baseball is the only field of endeavor where a man can succeed three times out of ten and be considered a good performer.”

Boy, was he right.

I became a Huskers fan when my family moved to Nebraska. That’s when I put down the plastic bat and picked up a real one. It’s when the dreams of playing Division I baseball for the Huskers started to consume me.

Unfortunately, however, I wasn’t the most physically gifted player growing up. I wasn’t the biggest, strongest, or hardest-throwing kid. So I knew I probably wasn’t ready to make that jump to Division I baseball right out of high school.

And honestly, it was really disappointing.

Imagine spending your entire childhood working towards a goal, only to have it snubbed by your own physical limitations. While others were being recruited, my phone was silent. 

All I needed was an opportunity, and with a little help from social media, I finally got one.

The head coach from South Mountain Community College in Arizona made a habit of liking posts on Twitter that were retweeting out my stat lines. He had been doing this so often that he finally took a closer look at me. So he reached out to invite me on a visit, and the next thing I knew, I was on a plane ride to Arizona to commit to a junior college for my freshman year.

Surely, there was still disappointment over not playing for a Division I school, but honestly, I was just so thankful for the opportunity. Not everybody gets a chance like that. 

After all, I was one of those guys that got to continue playing baseball after college.

What more could I ask for?

The First Recruit

 

I made the best out of my situation, and the right people started to take notice.

After a good spring season, I came back home and caught the College World Series with my dad on Father’s Day. We were just kicking back and enjoying a little father-son moment when my phone began to buzz.

Nebraska Assistant Coach Lance Harvell had reached out and acknowledged that Coach Bolt wanted me to join the team.

Not going to lie, I don't remember much from the game we were watching. Truthfully, all I recall is the moment of this life-changing news hitting my inbox. 

I’ve wanted to play baseball for Nebraska for as long as I can remember. 

And now, it was actually going to happen. 

Once I committed, I found out I was coach Bolt’s first recruit. We all got a picture together, and it wasn’t long after that when media outlets started talking about it. If baseball doesn’t work out, I could totally see myself being a trivia question 20 years from now. 

"Who was Bolt’s first recruit?" That’s the one question I’d get right. Guaranteed!

But being the first choice can sometimes feel like a blessing and a burden wrapped all into one. It’s obviously a rewarding feeling that the coaching staff has that much faith in you. Not everyone gets that sort of recognition.

But then there’s obviously the other side of it where you feel like you have to live up to expectations. You don’t want to make yourself look bad, and certainly don’t want to make the staff that brought you on look bad, either.

Those feelings give new meaning to pressure.

All Decked in Red

 

But everything felt worth it the first time I pitched at Haymarket Park.

I stared out into the stands from the mound and saw nothing but red. It was all red. Everybody was yelling, cheering, and looking for autographs. 

There were younger versions of me in the crowd, wagging around little twinkies and toy balls. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.

Obviously, those were all moments pre-pandemic. Things were cut short due to Covid-19, and it has been one big whirlwind of questions. 

As much as I think about what's going to happen next, I also know I can’t dwell on things beyond my control if I hope to make it to the MLB someday. Just another one of those childhood dreams, you know?

And who's to say that you can only accomplish one dream in your life? 

At the end of the day, I was just a local kid from Bellevue that turned one of his lifelong dreams into a reality. Now, it's time to make the most of this opportunity and then tackle the next steps.

I can't wait to go back out there, Husker Nation.