« Baseball 2011

Chris Dennis

School
Portland
Position
Pitcher
Major
Finance
ERA
2.29
W-L
3-2

Classroom

Dennis maintains a 3.78 GPA and has been on the Dean’s List all but one semester at Portland. He earned a 4.0 GPA during the fall term.

Character

Dennis was not highly recruited out of high school, yet he has emerged as one of the top closers in the country. Head coach Chris Sperry calls Dennis a great team player with a tremendous work ethic and he has already written letters of recommendation on Dennis’ behalf for MIT and Harvard.

Community

Dennis assists in running free baseball clinics in Lynnwood, Washington, as well as giving individual lessons for free. Every year he plays in and helps conduct baseball games with the Columbia River Miracle League, an organization that provides opportunities for those with special needs to play baseball regardless of ability.

Competition

As a junior, his first year with the Pilots, Dennis was named to the NCBWA All-America second team, the Louisville Slugger All-America third team and was one of five finalists for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award. He was also named UP’s 2009-10 Fr. Chester Prusynski Male Student-Athlete of the Year and was an All-WCC first-team selection. His 14 saves last season set new career and single-season marks at Portland. Dennis went 5-1 and posted an earned run average of 1.88. He enters his senior year as a preseason first-team NCBWA All-American and second-team Louisville Slugger All-American. He was also named to the initial watch list for the seventh annual NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award.