Cooper senior pitcher and outfielder Spencer Niebuhr is getting an opportunity to see other future college baseball talent across the United States.
Niebuhr was invited to play in the Baseball Factory Best of the Best tournament in Florida. He was selected as a Baseball Factory All-Midwest Player for the class of 2021.
There will be an award ceremony Sept. 4, and then players from all 50 states will play in the Battle of the Best at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Florida, the spring training home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“The invite means a lot because it shows my dedication to be able to play baseball for another tournament and then it shows that I have potential trying to play at a higher level in college,” Niebuhr said. “Also, it shows that I can be a student-athlete playing baseball and keeping up my grades in the classroom. I’ve been trying to keep a 3.5 or higher.”
Niebuhr has been with the Hawks’ varsity squad since he was in seventh grade, and he also plays club for Nevers Larkin Baseball out of Edina. He will be a senior this season for Cooper.
Baseball is a big part of Niebuhr’s life, and he said it means a lot to be able to play the sport.
“If I have enough time just to get on a baseball field, it will be just perfect for me,” he said. “I try to practice on my own time or call up my buddies and just have some fun on the baseball field.”
The opportunity to be in a showcase with so much talent is intriguing to Niebuhr, he said. He will get to meet new people and explore all of the talent from around the country. He also will play against some of these players in college.
Niebuhr is still hoping to make a decision for what college he wants to play for soon, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made that process difficult in 2020. The places he has in mind didn’t have open enrollment until Aug. 1 and he cannot really look at colleges until at least September.
The pandemic also took away his 2019 spring season, which he said was a rough time. Club baseball did finally open up in the summer, though.
“It was terrible news to hear that, in my junior season, I was not going to be able to play, especially at Cooper,” he said. “With brand new dugouts and everything too, I was really looking forward to that. But then I got good news with hearing from summer club baseball. That was just fun times, hanging out with the boys and being able to play.”
The Baseball Factory showcase will also get him some time on the field which will be a different experience from high school and club. Niebuhr said he is excited to not only play talented players but to also learn from them.
As for the upcoming spring Cooper baseball season, he said he will just keep working out and stay prepared. He wants to work harder in the classroom, as well, to make his senior year “one to remember.”
“I am just looking forward to hopefully being able to play my senior year and just to have a future in baseball,” he said. “But if I can’t have a future in baseball, just take my talents in the classroom for some type of engineering job and make some money from that.
“And if I still can play a little baseball on the side, I will still be grateful.”
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