An injury is never an easy thing to overcome.
It can wear you down mentally and force you to dig deep and find why you love of the game.
But for Trosky National 2025 infielder Rashad Hayes, it came as a blessing in disguise.
The soon-to-sophomore had a wicked freshman campaign with current high school club Bishop O’ Dowd. Hayes paced the team in home runs with three and was a consistent .300 hitter for a squad that managed to nab the No. 2 seed in the NCS Division 3 playoffs.
However, Hayes was never able to make an appearance in the postseason after suffering an injury to his wrist right before the playoffs began. Although not competing with his teammates hurt, he knew what he needed to do to stay ready for the National Team Championships.
“I’ve been in the cages these past couple of weeks trying to get right for the tournament,” Hayes said. “I’m blessed that it wasn’t anything too serious and that I’m back and able to compete with Trosky National.”
Now, he’s set to take the field with the best of the best and attempt to rewrite his fate after a far too early exit in his high school tournament. He completes one of the most dangerous left-sides of the infield in the 15U age group alongside infielder Xavier Neyens, an Oregon State commit.
Hayes himself is committed to Stanford, a school he’s dreamed about playing for since he was a little kid. A native of Oakland, Calif., he looks to continue honing his glove and swing to be one of the best players at the next level.
Although that won’t come at the risk of his love for the game.
His easy-going attitude on the field is what he enjoys most about the game, taking after White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson’s body language. Anderson is one of the game’s elite defenders and has shown Hayes you can be great at what you do and still have a little fun.
“He’s a guy I’ve always modeled my game after, just with the swag and confidence he plays with on the field,” Hayes said. “He’s given us hope and shown the younger guys that it’s possible to make your dreams come true in the big leagues.”
After competing on the 12U National Team along with the 13U/14U Athlete Development Program, Hayes is aiming for the 15U National Team this season. If there’s one thing you can count on, it’s that he’ll be leaving it all on the field this week with Trosky.
Trosky National 2025 opens pool play with a matchup against the CBA Warhawks tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Camelback Ranch, before being greeted with a twinbill on Monday, taking the field at 7:30 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. to wrap up the opening round of play.
