Kenwood's Campbell Finds His Field of Dreams

When Shane Campbell officially accepted a baseball scholarship to the University of Maryland in November, it was an emotional moment for the Kenwood athlete and his family.

"I actually broke down in tears, and my mom, Charlene, also started crying when they offered me a full ride because we realize that not many athletes get this kind of opportunity," said Campbell, 17, who verbally committed to the Terps in August.

"What made it a dream come true was that I never thought that I would get a full ride to go to college," said Campbell. "I mean, I know that there are a lot of athletes who are deserving of something like this. I'm blessed, there's no doubt about that. I thank God every day for that."

Asked if his father, John Campbell, a welder, or his mother, a cook, would have otherwise been able to send him to college, Campbell said, "Probably not."

"This is not just giving back to me and my parents. But it's giving back to my coaches and my former teammates," Campbell said. "They've all seen how hard that I work and how much I wanted to succeed."

A 6-foot-4, 210-pound left-hander, Campbell has demonstrated he was well worth the honor, with a robust batting average of .636 to go with 25 RBIs, two doubles, six triples, a home run, 23 runs scored and 14 stolen bases.

Despite losing, 9-8, to Catonsville on Tuesday night, Campbell turned in perhaps his best performance for the Bluebirds (7-6). The senior crunched a two-run home run in his first of four trips to the plate, finishing the day at 2-for-4, with three RBIs.

Campbell's effort matched his season-high three RBIs in each of the Bluebirds' games against Woodlawn and Franklin, during which he was 2-for-3 and 1-for-4, respectively.

"The thing that I like about Shane is that he's an intelligent ball player who has gotten considerably better," Kenwood coach Jay Diggs said. "When Shane gets into the box, he has it in mind whatever he needs to do, whether it's to try to pull the ball or to drive it the other way."

Campbell has struck out only three times, contributed at least an RBI in every game, come up with at least a hit in every game and scored at least a run in all but one outing. Although there have been five games during which Campbell has not stolen a base, there are two in which he has stolen a base three times and three others when he's stolen a base twice.

"In our 13 games, Shane has scored 23 runs and has 25 RBIs. So, he knows what to do when he gets up at the plate," Diggs said. "And Shane is a leader. You know, Shane leads through example and Shane leads through his hustle, and he leads through the fact that he's a good student."

Campbell is equally as consistent in the classroom, where he maintained a 4.0 grade point average on his most recent report card over a curriculum that includes honors college algebra, anatomy and physiology, economic public issues and health.

"I got straight A's in ninth grade, 10th grade and 11th grade at one point," said Campbell, who will pursue a major in physical therapy. "But getting that college scholarship, that's better than getting straight A's, actually."