Buccaneer Baseball player Keenan O’Brien officially signed his NAIA National Letter of Intent with Corban University in Salem, Oregon.  Corban is a small, private Christian university that competes in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

This past season, under head coach Derek Legg, they had an 8-15 overall record before the cancellation of all spring sports nationwide.  Last season, the Warriors were 19-31-1.  In his first year at the helm in 2017, Coach Legg completely turned around the program, leading the program to a 28-26 overall record, third-place finish in conference, and the Warriors finished just one game shy of booking their ticket to the NAIA National Tournament.

O’Brien is from Broomfield, Colorado and attended Legacy High School.  His high school stats included a batting average of .328, 12 RBI’s, 20 hits, along with a defensive average of .600 with runners caught stealing.  He made First Team All-Conference as a senior.  As a freshman, Keenan switched from catching to play first base.  He had a batting average of .252, with 2 homeruns, 15 RBI’s, and 12 stolen bases.  The following year, he wanted a chance to become the starting catcher for the 2019-2020 season.  He managed to earn the starting spot, but the 2020 season was cut short.  In the shortened season, Keenan’s sophomore statistics included a batting average of .382, with 10 RBI’s, 1 stolen base, and he caught 4 opponents stealing.

Keenan was excited about his new venture, “I am very excited for the opportunity to move on and continue my baseball career at Corban University in Oregon. I would like to thank all of the teachers and instructors at Dawson. They have helped to prepare me for all of the challenges that lie ahead. While I am ready and excited for the new adventures that are to come, I will always be grateful for my teammates, coaches, and friends for all the memories that they have given me.”

Coach Phil McClure said, “Keenan played two seasons at DCC and earned the title of captain his sophomore year. He is a well-rounded catcher with the ability to step into whatever role a coach needs him in. He was clutch for the Bucs on many occasions. Keenan is one of the hardest working catchers I have ever coached. He is very coachable and provides great leadership qualities. He will step right into a leadership role at Corban as he helps them move towards a conference championship.”