From a standout athlete at Mansfield University to a stint in professional baseball, the new sports information department’s graduate assistant has traveled across the United States to finally settle down in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

Anthony Renz, who is currently working his way toward a master’s degree in communication studies, is serving as the graduate assistant for Shippensburg University’s Sports Information.

Renz graduated from Mansfield in May of 2015.

During his time as an undergraduate, he got a taste of what it was like to work in a Sports Information department.

The Danville, Pennsylvania, native got his start in Sports Information at Mansfield by reaching out to the director of athletic operation at Mansfield, Steve McCloskey. Renz was hired as a student worker and began learning the ropes of sports information.

“I was originally a work-study [student] on the baseball team,” Renz said. “We would take care of the field or do maintenance on the cages.”

While on the university’s baseball team, Renz manned the hot corner as a four-year starter for Mansfield.

“I logged the most time at third base,” Renz said, “second-most position was designated hitter…and couple times at first base for emergency situations.”

After a successful college career, and like many college athletes, Renz had ambitions of making it to Major League Baseball (MLB).

Renz sparked interest from a few MLB clubs, such as the Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Mets, but unfortunately Renz said it is extremely hard to get drafted because teams tend to sign players who are coming out of high school. “It was a long shot,” Renz said.

After not getting selected in the 2015 MLB Draft, an eventful summer of traveling across the U.S. ensued for Renz.

Renz started his professional career playing for the Las Vegas Train Robbers based in Las Vegas, New Mexico. He then went on to play for the Fargo-Moorhead Red Hawks located in Fargo, North Dakota.

The final stop for Renz was Evansville, Indiana, as he joined the Evansville Otters. Renz played for the Otters until spring training of 2016 when the team made the decision to let him go.

It was time for Renz to make a difficult decision, knowing that it would be well into the season before another club could offer him a contract.

“Spring training is a really bad time to be released,” Renz said. “Teams are trying to downsize and are not looking to expand.”

Faced with doing what no athlete ever wants to do, Renz decided it was time to end his career in baseball. “For me it was bittersweet because I wanted to keep playing,” Renz said. “I got a rare opportunity to play professionally…I was very fortunate.”

A lasting memory Renz recalled about his professional career came during a game with the RedHawks. During a road game in St. Paul, Minnesota, Renz would have awarded all fans in attendance free root beer if he struck out.

“There were 10,000 fans all cheering for me to fail,” Renz said. However, fans were left thirsty because Renz did not strike out.

Now, Renz has put down the bat to begin his next journey in sports information.

“The graduate assistant in our office has a lot of responsibility”, said SU’s sports information director, Bill Morgal.

Renz came in right away and already knew the skills that are necessary for the job, according to Morgal.

“With his work ethic and personality he has been a seamless fit,” Morgal said of Renz. “He can do pretty much every aspect of the job and does it professionally and thoroughly.”

Renz expects to graduate in the spring of 2018 and said his dream job would be working for a major company such as ESPN or Fox Sports.

Without a doubt, Renz said he plans on remaining in the sports environment, whether that be working at the college or professional level. 

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