Daniel Killary, 3B, class of 2007

I have been sitting and waiting this last week hoping to hear good news on Selection Sunday so that I can have just a few more days of playing the greatest game on the planet.  While this anxious time has been passing, I have tried to reflect on this unforgettable season and my career as a Rhodes baseball player. I have been given the valuable gift of being a part of the very worst and the very best baseball teams of my life in the last four years and seeing the change occur before my eyes. In my first two seasons our record totaled 24-51; in the last two we have been 64-25 (with hopefully a chance to improve this record even more).

I came to Rhodes to be play baseball and get a great education. The first couple years I contributed to the team by starting at shortstop, but the frustrations came from the numbers on the scoreboard. I came from a large baseball program in Houston and was used to winning more than losing. The remarkable thing throughout even these lean years was that the coaching staff remained so amazingly close to all the players, which helped to build this program. As I have read the underclassmen’s posts, I’ve realized that they made no negative remarks at all about the team, which shows how much the team has progressed. 

Moving to this season, I knew that as a senior captain, I had a major responsibility to motivate this highly talented team to achieve even more than last year’s accomplishment of having the best turn around season in DIII. Throughout this season we not only achieved greatness on the field, but also had a bond among teammates which was like no other team on which I have played. Many teams have guys who just look out for #1, but playing DIII baseball means everyone on the team has an important role. Maybe the best thing about our team this year was that we always seemed to be the underdog. Even after beating many ranked teams and having a sixteen-game winning streak, we were left off the national polls and rated low in regional rankings.

There are two ways a team can respond to lack of recognition and we took the right path by making a negative into a motivating positive.  We ended the regular season with the most wins in Rhodes history (thirty-six) but had a tough SCAC tournament and did not receive an automatic bid. Many great teams have off days (#1-ranked Wooster lost their conference tournament yesterday) but still deserve to play more baseball. Now just hours remain before we find out if our season will continue. No matter the outcome I know that this team has achieved something that deserves to be rewarded and if we get the bid WE WILL BE READY.

I will not be drafted by a major-league team in June and thus will be moving back to Houston to pursue a career in banking. These four years I fell so fortunate to have had a top-class education that has prepared me for the future and to play a high level of baseball.  I am confident that the Rhodes baseball team can accomplish even more next year and finally become recognized as one of the premier programs in DIII. I will cherish forever the countless friendships and memories I have made with my teammates these last four years and I wish them good luck for what lies ahead.