April 13, 2016 | BY LIAM MORALES
CHSH Ben Rodenburg commits to Creighton
Creighton University commit Ben Rodenburg has been playing baseball for about ten years. However, at around the age of fourteen he really fell in love with the sport when he was able to relax and enjoy the game for what it is. In response he has seen his game improve and that has turned him into a 4-year varsity athlete.
In his junior year at Cactus Shadows High School, Rodenburg verbally committed to play shortstop at the University of Arizona, but due to a coaching change all verbal agreements were dropped. With that, offers and talks with other universities such as Creighton, Seattle and Colombia began. Last January, Creighton flew Rodenburg out to tour the campus and see the facilities with the coaches and other possible recruits. Aside from the baseball program, one of the reasons Rodenburg decided to commit to Creighton is because he has family in Lincoln Nebraska, which is about an hour out of Omaha, where Creighton is located. He also thinks it is a great academic school. Known as the “Stanford of the Mid-West,” Creighton has one of the top business programs, which is Rodenburg's intended major. “After the first two years they make you choose a specific field, like finance, marketing or entrepreneurship but I’m not sure which I want to go into yet,” Rodenburg said.
Rodenburg has found it easy to balance school and sports claiming he “took care of the stuff he needed to do.” His 3.9 GPA has earned him a partial academic scholarship. With his commitment comes a 20,000-dollar athletic and 16,000-dollar academic scholarship, which according to Rodenburg “rounds to about 75-80 percent of the cost to attend there.” Cactus Shadows coach Gaetano Gianni called Rodenburg a perfect role model. “He’s a leader not only by how he plays but everything he does off the field is a good example for anyone on our team.”
Upon his arrival Rodenburg will have competition at shortstop but believes if the current shortstop gets drafted he has a really good shot at playing his first year. If not, Rodenburg believes it will be “an absolute grind to try to beat him out… it’s definitely possible because the coach is going to play the best person out there, but I am going to have to really work.” There is also a possibility that Rodenburg could have a good shot at playing second base because Creighton’s current second baseman is a senior. “Ultimately I just want to play as much as I can and see the field my freshman year… It is pretty rare to start as a freshman in college but I am going to try my hardest.” Cactus Shadows teammate Dellan Raish believes Rodenburg is going to be very successful at Creighton. “He’s always had an amazing work ethic … he is also a very competitive person and I think those two things will allow him to be successful in college baseball,” Raish said.
Rodenburg’s ultimate goal is to make it into Major League Baseball. He has been contacted by a few teams such as the Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Angels. “Nothing is guaranteed and I’m not saying I will get drafted but there is a possibility; if that opportunity does come up I think I will take it.”
