Kenny Tagliarini is the starting second baseman for the Dickinson Red Devils baseball team. Kenny has loved baseball his whole life and even teaches it as a job. The South Jersey native is graduating in the year 2024 and equally puts his focus on his schoolwork and his team.
Starting as a freshman, Kenny was immediately able to show off what he can do. This paid off as he started batting leadoff and was moved to third base as his coach thought he was able to play there as well as second and the outfield. He was named 2nd Team All-Conference as a freshman and centennial conference academic all honor roll.
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But it hasn't been all sunshine and roses for Kenny, who has a unique story of how he arrived at Dickinson. This was his original choice but he unfortunately got rejected when he applied! After this he decided to take his talents elsewhere and play for Misericordia University, another liberal arts school in Pennsylvania. This all happened before COVID hit so this was the plan and Kenny planned to stick to it.
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But post-COVID, Dickinson needed more students to come to campus since people were withdrawing or taking a gap year. So Kenny applied again and was able to get in and still have his spot on the baseball team. “This was a very interesting journey,” he said, “and honestly, I didn't know how it was going to end. All I know is that I am so grateful to be able to be at Dickinson today and be a part of a great team.”
Kenny's journey encourages you to never give up on your goal. Even if you go down an unconventional path, you can always find your way to the end and make the best out of it.
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* Originally published on September 23, 2022, by Chris Russo
