WKU baseball grows local ties in annual youth camp

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Hilltopper baseball has seen a seismic shift in the right direction since hiring head coach Marc Rardin, both in the win column and in the cultivation of the program’s culture.

The mindset of Rardin has produced showstopping players, brand-new facilities and stronger connections to youth programs across Warren County and the surrounding area.

Tuesday morning, WKU’s annual Summer Youth Baseball School continued with kids ages 6-12 bettering their skills on the diamond through a variety of drills.

Rardin emphasized that he and the rest of the camp’s staff are set on promoting and teaching the game to the local kids.

“I’ve felt and seen the excitement, not just from the kids being around the facility, being around who we are, but also the parents who are getting them signed up and getting them here,” Rardin said.

Building ties to local little league and high school teams and getting those kids through the gates is another key goal for Coach Rardin.

“ I think that that’s important, that people know they matter and they matter to us,” Rardin said. “They matter as fans, not customers.”

Between this week and the camp session held back in June, Western has seen upwards of 200 youth baseball players hit the turf of Nick Denes Field.

WKU hopes to see the trend of more campers continue in the years to come.

“ The money that is raised here is money back to our program, but I’ve always said this, it’s really not about the fundraising, it’s about the friend raising,” Rardin said. “It’s about the next generation in this community being Hilltoppers and being Hilltopper fans, and who knows, potentially your next Hilltopper baseball players.”