Rolling Meadows’ Dennis Racks Up Accolades, Heads to Division I Bradley

If the last four years of his baseball career at Rolling Meadows High School are any indication of future success, Arlington Heights’ Matt Dennis is headed for greatness.

Dennis, 18, racked up numerous accolades for his playing abilities during his senior year at RMHS, including making All-Conference, being named the Mid-Suburban League East Player of the Year, Daily Herald All-Area Co-Captain, IHSBCA Coach’s Association All-Area Team and the Chicago Sun-times Second Team All-Area.

Despite all the recognitions, Dennis remains humble and willing to do the work it takes as he sets his sights on playing baseball, pitching, at Bradley University this fall.

“Over the years, I have been given chances to move up, and there were always times where I realized I wasn’t where I wanted to be,” Dennis said. “I knew I had things to work on, and fortunately had coaches that encouraged all of us to get stronger and better.”

So, Dennis did just that. In addition to hitting the weights and filling out his once slender 6’2" frame, he also tightened his skills by working with training coaches to increase his pitching velocity, honed in on throwing an even better curve ball, and worked at being as sharp as he could be on the mental side of the game. 

Though he was always a standout leading up to his junior year, that was the year he was given an even bigger opportunity to shine.

In the varsity baseball starting rotation behind two other players, Dennis was moved up to number two when the pitcher ahead of him was injured.

“I got a chance to play in more conference games junior year, and had some good successes and failures, too. I got a taste of how competitive it would be, and the player I wanted to become,” he said.

A turning point for Dennis going into his senior year, was when some college scouts told him he didn’t throw hard enough to play in Division I.

“That drove me, I got a chip on my shoulder,” Dennis said. “I focused hard on getting my velocity up; I put 4-5 mph on my throwing after working hard at it.”

Dennis said committing to Bradley in January, which he said took some pressure off during his senior year, allowing him to focus solely on the game.

“The year went well, I didn’t have a loss until the playoffs, I got where I wanted to get skill-wise in high school. We all played well this past year, we won conference, and accomplished all of our goals - it was a team effort,” he said.  

As he reflects on the challenges ahead of him, it’s worthy to note the balance Dennis strikes with all of his accomplishments, and his maturity in knowing what he'a about to walk into at Bradley, being one of the youngest on the team.

“In college, you’re playing the best players from every high school team, it’s going to be harder. I’m going to have to work for a spot,” Dennis said.  

“You have to look at it as if you don’t have a job right away, it’s more of a competition next year and I’m going to fight my way in,” Dennis said. “My expectations are that I am going to play - this really is a dream come true.”