The secret to Purdue center fielder Brandon Rogers’ success is no secret at all, he said.
Rogers, a former Mount Carmet star, was named Big Ten Baseball Player of the Week and Dick Howser Trophy National Co-Hitter of the Week for March 30.
“Being nominated means absolutely everything,” Rogers said. “That just shows me that the work I’ve put in day and night consistently (has paid off).
“And it’s not allowing people and things to get to my head and not being able to play as much as I wanted to in the past. I’m finally getting a chance to display the things that I’ve been working on that nobody is able to see at night.
“It just makes me feel amazing. It lets me know and puts a chip on my shoulder that I can achieve and do anything I want in life as long as I’m able to put the work in.”
During the week for which he was honored, Purdue went 4-1 and won a Big Ten series against Michigan State. The Ashburn resident belted two grand slams and drove in 13 runs. He was 9-for-22 with a 1.322 OPS and and extended his on-base streak to 20 consecutive games.
“I’ll be completely honest with you, (winning the awards) was definitely a surprise,” Rogers said. “I didn’t even know about the national hitter of the week. I wasn’t even paying attention to the Big Ten Player of the Week. When I heard about that, my teammates woke me up.
“I was literally in the nap before a hitter’s meeting. They woke me up. They said, ‘Hey, B-Rog. Go look at social media.’ I was like, ‘What’s going on?’ I was thinking that something bad had happened. The next thing you know, that (the Big Ten award) happens and then five minutes later, they were like, congrats on the national hitter of the week award, too.
“I was thinking they were joking with me. It came out of nowhere and I’m just so thankful.”
Rogers has been out since the first weekend of this month when he fractured his left hand making a diving catch against Illinois. He has been cleared by the Purdue medical staff to return to action and hopes to be back in the Boilermakers’ lineup as soon as possible.
In helping Purdue to a 26-11 overall record and a mark of 13-6 in conference play, Rogers has put up some impressive stats. In 28 games, he has a .369 batting average with five home runs, 25 RBIs, 22 runs and six doubles in his second season in West Lafayette.
Rogers played one season at Iowa Western Community College and one season at Arizona before arriving at Purdue.
“The key is that I was just able to quiet myself and being simple,” Rogers said. “I always tell myself to not allow the moment to be bigger than who you are.
“It’s about slowing the game down and understanding the situation…My focus right now is playing the game and helping the team win the game. That has helped me tremendously and I sure will be sticking with that.”
R-B’s Cicic heads to portal
Former Riverside-Brookfield star Stefan Cicic has entered the NCAA’s transfer portal. A 7-foot center, Cicic averaged 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the final five games of the season for Pepperdine. On the 32-game season, he averaged 4.5 points and 2.6 rebounds.