SAN ANTONIO — At four-years-old, Rico Salazar knew baseball was the sport for him. Now a senior at McCollum High School, he’s entering his final year with his team and taking a moment to enjoy the game.
“I hear people tell me that they want to come back to high school and they miss it,” Rico says. He goes on to say that he’ll try to remember everything he can in high last year of high school.
A center fielder, Rico inspires his teammates.
“He’s taken on more of a leadership role.” Head Baseball Coach Geoff Curtain said. “[Rico has] taken guys under his wing and kind of doing things the right way, and just letting the kids learn off of his actions more than his words.”
After high school, Rico has plans to attend the University of Texas at San Antonio where he’ll major in Electrical Engineering. And while he’s interested in continuing to play ball in college, Rico’s dad, Raymond Salazar, just wants the best for his son.
“Academically, he’s doing really well, so we’re not putting pressure on him to go play baseball,” Raymond Salazar said. “Maybe something will happen while he’s on that campus.”
The Spectrum News 1 Scholar Athlete Program recognizes exceptional public high school student athletes with academic scholarship awards of $1,000 each for use toward college expenses.
If you know a teen you’d like to nominate, click here to learn more.