CHASING GREATNESS
Shen’s Chase Carroll continues baseball career as a Great Dane at UAlbany
ALBANY, NY » Chase Carroll came into 2020 excited about Shen baseball’s chances of repeating as Section 2 champions and trying to return to the state title game.
Unfortunately, they will not be given that chance.
The Shenendehowa infielder and UAlbany commit shares the disappointment of missing the season with his teammates and is still getting used to what spring is like without baseball.
“The first thing I did was text some of my teammates,
Jake Reinisch, Nick Lemire and Thomas Krill. We were all shocked and in disbelief, realizing that we wouldn’t be able to play on the field again. It was tough for us,” Carroll said.
“I miss the daily routine. I miss the walks down to the locker room after school ends and then down to the field. It’s heartbreaking that it got taken away this year. The school year flies by when you’re having fun and last year we had a lot of fun. I really miss it.”
He is coming from a Plainsmen baseball team that had a core group of 11 seniors. Shen would have had a senior at every position in the starting
lineup.
“We were a young team last years and people weren’t looking at us as a big threat. They didn’t really know much about us. As the season went on, we started to gain respect throughout the league and we had a pretty successful season. We are a very close group and I think we could have gone a long way this year,” he said.
Carroll does have his fair share of long walks and baseball in his future. He will continue his baseball career at the University at Albany next year. While it was a later recruitment decision, he was able to find the right fit.
“The recruiting process was kind of stressful for me in the beginning. Everyone around me was committing to schools. Then my arm started to develop and I began to stand out a little more and getting looks from schools,” he said.
“When I was growing up, UAlbany was always my dream school. It’s so close to home and I wanted to stay close. When I visited campus it was a great fit for me. As soon as I got a look from them and we got in contact, I knew that I wanted to go to UAlbany.”
While Carroll has been an infielder his whole like, he only started pitching two years ago. As he begins his freshman year as a Great Dane, he will be both pitching and playing
Chase Carroll pitches for Shen last season. infield.
“That was always a goal for me. I really like hitting, but I just started pitching and I want to continue doing it. Doing both would be fantastic,” he said.
Jon Mueller, UAlbany’s Head Coach, spoke about why he’s excited to get Carroll on campus next season.
“He’s a high character kid, a very hard worker, and he’s very aware of what he’s capable of. We like Chase a little bit as an infielder and a little bit on the mound. We think that he’s going to make us better as a team,” Mueller said.
“We aren’t looking for individual stars. We want to build a framework of guys that want to bring a lunch pail and go to work everyday. That’s how we built the foundation of this program and that’s the kind of player Chase is.”
Carroll explained his thoughts on coming into college as both a pitcher and hitter.
“I had a conversation with [Coach Mueller] about coming in and trying to be a dual player, infield and pitching. Hopefully I’ll be able to do both, but if not, I’ll do whatever’s best for the team.”
He continued, speaking about why playing Division 1 baseball, in the MAAC, was important to him.
“Coming from Shen, it’s such a competitive league. When you’re playing against other teams, you’re always getting their number one. I love being competitive and even on our team, you’re always battling your own teammates for a starting spot,” Carroll said.
The Shen senior plans on majoring in forensics, where he could have a career in helping stop identity theft. He is hoping to give himself multiple career options though.
“My dream job would be playing in the MLB, but otherwise I’d like to own my own gym and be a personal trainer.”
By playing college baseball at a Division 1 program, the hope of playing at the next level remains alive. The trick is being willing to put in the work and having the ability to stay healthy.
“It’s really just about putting in the work. You have to push yourself to new limits every single day to be able to get to the next level. You have to be to best person and player that you can be, have fun and trust the process,” Carroll said.