When senior Will Dennis stepped onto the baseball field at Seattle University for a showcase in late August, he had no clue what to expect. A few days and hundreds of pitches later, Dennis knew where his baseball career was headed next.
In what he considered “a dream come true,” Dennis was recruited as a two-way player for the NCAA Division I school after an impressive effort at the showcase.
“I’ve always wanted to play Division I baseball, so this is obviously one of the greatest moments of my life,” Dennis said. “I’m so thankful for the opportunity that Seattle University has given me, and this experience has shown me that dreams really can come true.”
Dennis was also being scouted by Fresno State and Long Beach State but ultimately decided that Seattle University gave him the best chance to play.
Dennis, a first baseman and pitcher, starred last season as a team captain on the Saratoga diamond, hitting .383 with four home runs and establishing himself as one of the team’s top pitchers. Because of his strong effort last season, Dennis was awarded All-League Second Team recognition in the competitive De Anza League.
Dennis put up these exceptional numbers despite missing the first 10 games of the season due to CCS restrictions on transferring athletes. Dennis attended Woodside Priory in Portola Valley before the beginning of his junior year.
“As much as I hated sitting out the first 10 games, it was worth it since coming to Saratoga gave me a much better chance to win and to be noticed by scouts,” Dennis said. “Saratoga is also great academically and I liked the environment much more than my old school.”
Baseball has always been a priority for Dennis, who practices every day and has spent much of his life playing for year-around travel teams. Whenever Dennis is not working on schoolwork, he can be found in the batting cages or on the bullpen mound.
“I would not be where I am now without all the time that I have spent on baseball. I always knew how much practice it would take to reach my goal and fortunately I was able to keep playing whenever I had free time,” Dennis said.
Many of Dennis’ teammates agree that his work habits affect not just him, but also the rest of the team.
“Will totally deserves this opportunity and now I feel like the whole team wants to work harder since we have an example to look at,” senior pitcher Thomas Ishikawa said. “We’ve never really had a player like him these past few years, so it’s great to have someone to look up to that’s not a coach.”