Local DHS Grads Earn Scholarships

This spring, the Deerfield Youth Baseball and Softball Association (DYBA/DYSBA) awarded college scholarships to six local graduating high school seniors. The six DYBA/DYSBA 2020 College Scholarship Winners earned their honors through Board and DHS team voting.

DYBA/DYSBA Commissioner Paul Chanan had this to say about the winners, “Being part of such a close-knit baseball and softball community, we all join together in celebrating the accomplishments of each other’s children. Today we honor six of our girls and boys who have dedicated themselves to DYBA/DYSBA, made the sacrifices necessary to achieve at a high level, and have represented Deerfield with both high character and pride. Congratulations to them.”

The Deerfield High School Softball players earning the $1,000 College Scholarship included:

• Maya Geren – Maya participated in DHS athletics each of her four years, including softball, and was active in several additional activities in school and off campus. She volunteers much of her time with local organizations. In the classroom, she earned Honors Society acknowledgement and was named an Illinois State Scholar. She is attending the University of Illinois. Before earning accolades at DHS, she spent 11 years playing DYSBA House and Travel team softball.

• Halle Mangurten – Halle proved to be selfless as a leader on the field, in the classroom and in the community. It is her well-rounded approach to life that led to earning a spot next school year on the Northwestern University Softball team – an educational and athletic accomplishment. She played House and Travel DYSBA Softball for several years, and helped run clinics for the program while in high school.

• Cailey Gross – Cailey won the Varsity Softball Team scholarship. Her teammates voted her as the winner of this prestigious scholarship based on her leadership on the field, game performance and classroom successes. Cailey also spent many seasons on the diamonds with DYSBA, earning the respect of her teammates as a leader year to year.

Longtime DYBA participants won the 2020 $1,000 College Scholarship, including:

• Ben Kraemer – Ben was involved with DYBA for nine years as a player, and has umpired in the league for six years, recently earning his patch. This year, he is also assistant coaching the 9U Red Boys Travel team. Impressively, he will be attending Vanderbilt University, and running on the University’s cross-country team. In the classroom, Ben is an Honor Society member, and beyond the classroom he launched Kiva.org at Deerfield High School, a micro-loan program for entrepreneurs around the world.

• Cory Siegel – Cory has been a staple on Deerfield’s diamonds as a player and coach. His involvement spans a decade, seven years as a house and travel player and three years coaching. Planning to study engineering in college, Cory achieved High Honor Roll at Deerfield nearly every semester at DHS. He was All-Academic IHSA in football, and also played varsity lacrosse. He will be attending the University of Iowa this fall.

• Ryan Nagelbach – Ryan earned votes from his teammates to win the coveted Varsity Baseball Team scholarship. A multi-sport athlete, Ryan has been a hardworking member of the DHS and DYBA programs. His leadership has encouraged teammates to strive to be the best they can be both on and off the field. Ryan will be attending UIC this fall, having earned a roster spot on their Division I baseball team.

The DYBA/DYSBA Board congratulates all of the winners.

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