« Baseball 2012

Troy White

School
Northern Illinois
Position
Third Base
Major
Business Management
AVG
.278
R
17
H
35
FLD%
.939
RBI
30

Classroom

White maintains a 3.36 GPA in Business Management, including a perfect 4.0 during fall 2011. His biggest academic achievement was at the conclusion of his freshman year, when he was named a Jackie Robinson Foundation Scholar for his extensive work in the classroom and the community. White was selected to the Mid-American Conference’s all-academic team following the 2011 season. White is also a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars. After he is finished with baseball, White would like to start and open a baseball academy for inner-city Chicago youths, training the players and educating them on the many endeavors within the world of sports away from the playing field.

Character

Growing up on the Southside of Chicago, the 2011 NIU captain grew up playing baseball in the inner-city. While playing game’s at Whitney Young High School, White admitted to seeing more pro baseball scouts at his games than college coaches. He was fortunate enough to be drafted in the 48th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians. Northern Illinois coach Ed Mathey saw White play shortly before the draft and arranged a visit to offer White a walk-on spot with the baseball team. White chose to attend NIU over accepting a minor-league contract in the Indians organization because “going to school to get my education was big for me and my family. I believe college is the best bet over the minor leagues.” White came to Northern Illinois and was slated to sit behind a freshman all-america at third base. With the coaches recognizing White’s talent, they started him at third base and found another position for the Huskie great. After sustaining a season-ending injury towards the end of sophomore year, White bounced back to have his best season with NIU and start all 57 of the Huskies contests last season.

Community

White has been involved with numerous community-outreach efforts with the team, the Student Athlete Advisory Committee, through his church and with the Jackie Robinson Foundation. White has donated several hours to senior-assisted living homes in DeKalb and with children at NIU community events. Through his church in Chicago, White donates his time putting together and distributing charity baskets to families in need. With the Jackie Robinson Foundation the last three years, White has worked closely with “Citi Cubs,” a program through Citi Bank and the Chicago Cubs organization, directed towards elementary school kids and teaching them the importance of education, athletic integrity and reinforcing positive values to succeed. In Jan. 2011, White spoke to more than 100 school children and appeared with President of Baseball Operations for the Chicago Cubs, Theo Epstein. “It’s important to me to get as much community service in as I possibly can because I’ve been blessed with so much,” White said. “To give your time and just try to make someone else’s day better, is really important because you never know how something so small can be so big in another person’s life. If you can help just one person out, it’s a success.”

Competition

As a junior, White was a second-team All-MAC selection after batting .304 with 45 RBI, three home runs, 11 doubles, four triples and 46 runs. He also amassed 12 stolen bases, a .388 on-base percentage and a .433 slugging percentage and carried a .946 fielding percentage with a mere eight errors. Last year he had a 17-game hit streak at the plate, tying for the fourth-longest in school history. White is batting .294 in his career with 163 hits, 104 RBI, 24 doubles, six triples and three homers. In his freshman season, he appeared in 50 games with 47 starts to his credit, more than any other freshman on the roster. He has started 143 of the 146 contests he’s played in during his career.