Rookie Shines in Multi-Sport Role

With the exception of a rare few that go on to play professionally, Division I athletics is the final stop for most athletes at Harvard. These students have only four short seasons to make their mark, only four seasons to enjoy with their teammates, and only four chances to win it all. Well, four for most people.

Freshman Dillon O’Neill is not most people. The 5’9' outfielder recently joined the short list of Harvard athletes that play not one, but two varsity sports, giving him a total of eight shots at athletic glory.

A Naperville, Ill. native, O’Neill was recruited from Benet Academy to play baseball for the Crimson as an outfielder.

He has already made an immediate impression at Harvard, batting .340 in his rookie year with 13 runs scored and five RBI in just 21 games played.

“He has really come on strong in the last couple of weeks, which is definitely a testament to his great work ethic and desire to continually improve himself,” senior catcher Matt Kramer says.

Strong would be an understatement for the blossoming rookie. In Harvard’s April 12-13 series with Yale, O’Neill finally found his stride, going 5-for-5 with three runs in a 12-2 win over the Bulldogs. The freshman showed the performance was no fluke the following day, going 2-for-4 with a run in the Crimson’s 9-5 win.

In yesterday’s tough 5-4, loss he went 1-for-4 with an RBI.

But before his baseball season began, O’Neill realized there was something missing in his life.

While he was in high school, O’Neill played on a top-notch club soccer team that was ranked as high as ninth in the country at one point. One day during his first semester at Harvard, he decided to bring soccer back into his life, so he went and played in a junior varsity game with his roommate.

“I always kind of wanted to play both sports, so I always stayed in shape,” O’Neill says. “I went to the JV game, and the varsity coaches saw me play.”

From there, he was invited to come out and practice with the varsity soccer team.

“I just took advantage of the opportunity as opposed to waiting,” O’Neill said.

After practicing with the soccer team, O’Neill ended up seeing playing time in five total games.

“He stepped in and I think he even started a couple games for us,” saysmen’s soccer captain Mike Fucito. “He definitely came in and held his own right away.”

O’Neill was also praised by his second set of teammates for his character and commitment.

“He was always listening and really willing to take what we said and get better,” Fucito says. “He is a pleasure to have on the team and a hard worker.”

For O’Neill, playing two sports has been about more than just what happens on the field.

“It has been good,” O’Neill says. “I get to know a lot of different people and it is fun to compete.”

Although balancing even one varsity sport with the heavy workload at Harvard would be a difficult task for most, O’Neill has managed two with remarkable ease.

“Playing two sports is not really too difficult,” O’Neill says. “This spring I haven’t really had much to do for soccer and during the fall I wasn’t required to do much for baseball. I just try to get stuff in when I find time for it.”

With six seasons left to go after his freshman year, O’Neill has more than most athletes to look forward to. In the end, he is just glad to be playing another sport he loves.

“I missed soccer a lot before I joined the soccer team,” O’Neill says. “It has been really good to get back to it.”

O’Neill plans to continue his role on both the soccer team and the baseball team in his next three years with the Crimson.

“They are two very different sports and I love them both,” O’Neill says.