Preston Amsden '22 Recruiting Profile

I am often asked why baseball is so important to me, and for me the answer is simple….baseball saved and changed my life.  When I was ten years old, I was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, and for many months lost my ability to walk normally or without assistance.  During this time, I had to stop playing baseball while my rheumatologist found the right medication to help me, but every Tuesday and Thursday, no matter how bad I hurt, I went to hit in the cage.  On those days, I felt like a normal kid doing what I loved to do.  Those days saved me mentally and physically because they kept my body moving.  I was eventually put on Enbrel, went into a medicated remission, and have been in a non-medicated remission for three years.

When you lose the ability to play the sport you love and then get a second chance, your perspective changes.  Juvenile idiopathic arthritis taught me to not take things for granted, and give everything I have to keep fighting for a dream, even when it would be easier to give up.  I bring a different perspective to a team because I know what it is like to lose the ability to play.  This game has given me way more than I could ever give it back.  What you get from me is a player who will show up to work everyday to honor my God, my team, my coaches, my school, this sport I love, and myself.  It is important to me to find a school that has these same values, along with a strong academic and baseball balance.