Springs Valley Community High School

On Friday, Dec. 9, waves of family, friends, coaches, and teammates poured into the Springs Valley High School gymnasium for a celebration. They piled onto the southwest corner of the court, surrounding the table at which Henry Cruz would put pen to paper. When he did, he’d write “I signed” and circle it on a blank piece of paper. The actual writing on the actual page was a bit anticlimactic, but the act it represented wasn’t and the applause that followed was heartfelt as could be. In the lead-up to the celebration, the Springs Valley senior had signed his National Letter of Intent to play collegiate baseball at Georgetown College in Kentucky. “It’s a great feeling. It’s a day that I’ve been looking forward to for a long time,” Cruz said. “For a little while I didn’t think I’d be able to have this, that this wouldn’t happen. I was a little bit scared honestly because I didn’t have any offers coming out of the summer, so this is a big relief.” For all the words that were said by Springs Valley athletic director Kelly Schmitt, Springs Valley baseball coach Rob Denbo, and Cruz himself, for the gravity of the moment in Cruz’s journey, the thing that stood out the most was the sheer volume of people who were present and wanted to celebrate with him. His parents, his sisters, his grandparents, extended family of all sorts, friends, classmates, and more or less the entire Springs Valley baseball program converged to form a mass of 40 or so people. The turnout was meaningful to the young man, who knows how much the support of the people around him has had on his rise to becoming a collegiate athlete. “It means a lot to me. I’m glad that they’ve been there for me through everything," Cruz said. "All these people have helped me out and I’m just really grateful that they decided to show up for me today.” Cruz has also done more than enough by himself to warrant the opportunity he’s received. Since starting his varsity baseball career in 2020 — his freshman season was canceled because of the then-still-new COVID-19 pandemic — he’s been nothing short of stellar. Through 40 games played, he owns a career batting average of .422 and a career on-base percentage of .562. Of his 46 career hits, 14 have been for extra bases and he’s driven in 36 runs as well. He’s also stolen 32 bases, was an important member of the pitching rotation as a sophomore, and, despite all of that, the most impressive part of his game might be his defense. He was an All-PLAC selection in 2022, should be once again in 2023, and could earn even higher honors if his upward trend continues. He owes it all to his tireless work ethic, which he’s showcased by training for baseball year-round whether he was on the field, in the batting cage, in the weight room, or anywhere else he could spend time to improve his game. “I can't imagine another player at Springs Valley since perhaps Larry Bird who has put in as much time at a single sport as Henry has baseball. All of his success comes from his commitment to discipline himself to learn every time he takes the field or steps in the batter's box. He is truly a story of how hard work and determination can lead to making your lifelong dreams come true,” Denbo said. “Blood, sweat, tears and broken bones—literally—have gone into Henry's success.” With his college destination settled and his signing over with, Cruz can stop worrying about the distant future and instead reallocate his attention to what’s right in front of him: his senior season. Official practice will open on March 13, the regular season will begin just 17 days later, and as it does the Blackhawks will be chasing the same things as usual: conference championships, sectional championships, the works. If they’re going to reach those goals, their senior shortstop will have to carry quite the load and he’ll have more than enough focus to do so. “It’s going to help a lot,” Cruz said. “Now I just have to go out there and do my thing.”