Glenbrook North鈥檚 Ryan Henschel overcomes roadblocks, prepares for URI baseball
NORTHBROOK, Ill. — The high school graduating classes of 2021 and 2022 have arguably been the most affected high school student-athletes by the pandemic. In 2020, the NCAA decided that it would offer every student-athlete in college during the 2020 spring season and 2020-2021 school year an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, meaning that some athletes could come back for fifth, sixth or in some cases, seventh years of athletic competition.
Then in April 2021, the NCAA decided that it would allow all undergraduate student-athletes in all sports
the opportunity to move freely one time without having to sit out. That rule made the transfer market in
all sports crazy, with hundreds to thousands of student-athletes in all sports deciding to transfer without
having to sit out.
What all of that meant, however, is that there could, and in many cases would, be less scholarship and
roster opportunities for high school athletes in the classes of 2021 and 2022 than there normally would
be.
Nobody learned that more than Glenbrook North senior baseball player Ryan Henschel. The centerfielder committed to the University of Rhode Island in the later portion of this summer, but if he had waited any longer, that spot may have dried up.
“I actually got the offer during the middle of a school day, I think it was on a Friday in the last period;” he
said. “I remember I got a call from the coach and I committed a couple days after that because I only had about a couple weeks to commit. So I thought that was the right spot for me. So I did it right away;They said they’d like an answer within a week or a couple of week, honestly, because of COVID all the roster spots are limited. So there’s a bunch of guys competing for a couple spots and if I didn’t commit there, they’d probably want to move on fast to find other guys.”
Like all spring sports, the pandemic ruined the chance for student-athletes to really travel and compete
for baseball club programs, especially in the summer of 2020. However, Henschel and other ball players
were able to get back on the field last season to show their skills.
Instead of being out on the field and playing with teammates, Henschel was going to the park to create videos by himself so he could send them out to potential coaches. He’d send those out in emails to coaches, as well as any academic information. He’d let coaches know which showcases he’d be at, what field they’d be playing on and what times his games were so they could see him live.
Much to his surprise, he ended up getting multiple responses and some of those coaches ended up
catching some of games he mentioned to them.
“Once I started playing out again, I got contacted by I’d say maybe 15 schools that summer and I was
talking to a lot of them, but a lot didn’t have spots, but wanted me to follow up and then some did have
spots,” he said. “So it was a fun time, stressful, but fun.”
Henschel said he started to get the feeling he’d be able to play at the next level after his sophomore
year. Prior to high school, he had played shortstop his entire life, because as he says “I was chubby, but
once I got to high school I lost the weight and got faster. My coaches thought it was a good move to put me in center field, kind of be the captain of the outfield run around and catch fly balls,” he said. “So it was, it was honestly the best thing ever happened to me because聽that’s why I am where I am today.”
Henschel and the rest of the Spartans started their season Feb. 28 and are hoping to make some noise
this year. After taking second place in the tough CSL South last season, the squad is looking to take that one step further and will be bolstered by a lot of familiar faces.
“Our lineup is going to be very similar to last year, but the main thing is we have to throw strikes this
year,” he said. “That what’s the biggest part, if we throw strikes this year as a pitching staff, I think we
we’re going to win the conference by a landslide. I mean, we took second in the conference last year, by
I think a half game? So if we throw strikes this year, we are, we’re going to be unstoppable.”
This is an unedited user writing submission. The views, information, or opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Best Version Media or its employees.