On a recent April evening, Green Wave pitcher Keagan Gillies and some teammates participated in a baseball game as they do many times during the spring. This game, however, was different – played on a much smaller field in front of a decidedly smaller crowd than is typically seen at Greer Field at Turchin Stadium. On this night, rather than pitching baseball overhanded to opposing hitters, Gillies was pitching foam balls underhanded to kids with special needs.
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Gillies is only a sophomore, yet the effort and the years of service he has put into helping one community organization is enough to leave a legacy. He has spent the past seven years working with the Miracle League, an organization that provides children with disabilities the opportunity to play sports with programs in baseball, basketball and soccer. He began volunteering for the Miracle League's baseball program in eighth grade at Brother Martin, and the experience has stuck with him ever since.
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"Going out there and seeing the smiles on those kids' faces when they're doing something that they like to do is just pretty awesome," Gillies said. "From the first time I went out there, I have believed that every kid should have a chance to play baseball if that's what they want to do no matter their disability."Â
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Gillies' commitment to that belief motivated him to start his very own nonprofit in his junior year of high school. His organization, K's for Kids, fundraises and donates to the Miracle League.
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I wanted to do a little bit more for the Miracle League to help keep them running because they do such a great job over there," Gillies said. "I came up with the idea with my dad. I talked to him about it and we came up with K's for Kids."
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At Brother Martin, K's for Kids fundraised through pledged donations for every strikeout during the year in addition to flat donations. As a three-year letterman and eventual team captain for the Crusaders, Gillies led the charge in fundraising efforts on and off the field. He rallied his teammates to spread the word about K's for Kids, collected donations from family, friends and even his father's business clients. Â
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Transitioning to college gave Gillies another platform to continue supporting the Miracle League. While pitching for the Green Wave, he continues to fundraise through K's for Kids and encourages teammates to volunteer, as Sal Gozzo and Hunter Abdalla did with Gillies at Miracle Night last month. Tulane offered a ticket purchase program for fans to donate tickets to be used by the children of the Miracle League to attend a Green Wave baseball game during the final two weeks of the regular season.
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"I still go out there to play with the kids when they have games," Gillies said. "Just a couple weeks ago some of my teammates and I all went out there and played with them."
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Aside from the opportunity to continue supporting the Miracle League, Gillies had many reasons to choose Tulane over another university. He is a New Orleans native interested in learning business, and his father is a Tulane alumnus.Â
Sal Gozzo helps out during a
baseball game at K's for Kids
Miracle Night last month.
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In his sophomore season pitching for Tulane, Gillies has already made tremendous improvements from his freshman season. A reliever as a freshman in 2017, he worked into the weekend rotation at the start of this season and leads the team with five wins and a 2.94 ERA. Opponents are hitting just .212 against him. His ERA is nearly four points lower than his freshman season (6.56), and his consistency on the mound helped move him up from Sunday to the Saturday starter.
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"I think a lot of my improvement has to do with experience from last year and just getting on the mound," Gillies said. "A lot of mental game goes into it, and developing new pitches has been a big thing for me as well. We developed a slider this offseason, and that kind of opened up the rest of my pitches."
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As this season draws to an end, Gillies looks ahead to his junior season hoping to improve even more. His entrepreneurial endeavors demonstrate a keen devotion to service, a commitment everyone can learn from as he steps into the leadership role of an upperclassman. Gillies will continue to support the children of the Miracle League and looks forward to seeing them in the stands cheering on the Green Wave. Â
Gillies throws a pitch during a baseball game at K's for Kids Miracle Night last month.
