By Aubree O´Neil – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law Class of 2026 graduate Brady O´Neil recently began his first year of college at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts, where he is playing baseball and double majoring in Education and English and minoring in History. 

Since O’Neil was young, he knew he had a passion and love for baseball. He stayed dedicated to the sport throughout his entire childhood and high school career, making varsity in his freshman year. 

“I’ve known since I was a little kid that I wanted to play in college,” O’Neil said. “It didn’t matter where, I just wanted an opportunity to play. Springfeild is an awesome environment where I get to play right out of the gate, all while learning from awesome coaches and people who have been in my shoes.”

While O’Neil misses home and Jonathan Law, he couldn’t be more grateful for not only the opportunities both have provided for him.

“Law helped me find myself, my values, my beliefs, and basically built the foundation of who I am today,” O´Neil said. “I grew up in that building and owe so many people credit for the person I am today.”

Law Head Coach Mr. Simler coached O’Neil throughout his four years at Law, making note of his extraordinary efforts not only in sports but in academics as well. 

“He worked hard on the field to help his teammates to get better every day,” Simler said. “In addition, Brady’s commitment to his academics was as strong as his commitment to baseball.”

Simler said that O’Neil was a true example of a student-athlete.

“He was a great example of why we say student-athlete because of how important academics were to him,” Simler said. “He is a highly skilled baseball player in all parts of the game and was a true competitor.” 

While moving on to college can make it difficult to keep connections to close friends, O’Neil and fellow Class of 2026 graduate Aiden Rascati still keep in touch.

“We text and call multiple times a week, working around each other’s schedules to keep in touch and to catch up,” Rascati said. “It took a couple of days to figure out when free times were aligned, and it’s very different than all the years of us only being 10 minutes apart from each other.”