Cactus Athletic Camps

Evan Mekenney, a 6th grader from Glendale, AZ is our Student Athlete of the Week. He attends Highland Lakes Elementary School and maintains a 4.0 grade point average. Evan is an extremely intelligent young man and has been in the advanced reading and math programs for three years.

He first caught our eye during our Holiday Baseball Camps this past December. During the camp he showed a great combination of talent, leadership and determination. He was also very coachable and implemented the drills we showed him during our daily scrimmages. Due to that he was voted the MVP of the camp.

We also had the pleasure of working with Evan during the winter season of the Arizona Baseball League. He played for the (AA) Braves in the North Division and helped his team earn a 6-2 record and a #2 seed in the playoffs. His head coach Chris Marchildon had this to say about Evan: “He was a great player for me. He got to the field early, learned new things we taught him on the fly and was a real joy to coach.”

This spring he will play in the Majors Division of Arrowhead Little League. Defensively he excels over at first base, but  is a beast anywhere you put him on the diamond. He is a very consistent hitter at the plate and has some pretty good wheels as well.

Evan’s first passion is baseball.  He also loves to play video games, ride his BMX  bike, and is an altar server at St. Thomas Moore Catholic Church.  Evan is a driven and responsible kid.  He wanted to raise $250 on his own to attend his 6th grade trip to Sea World and he accomplished that goal. One of his nicknames is Tank. He got it because he has always been so thin.

In the future Evan has plans to get a full baseball scholarship to ASU and then play for the Diamondbacks as a star shortstop. I think those are solid goals and I wouldn’t put it past him. He is a smart kid who is going to continue to shine brighter and brighter the older he gets.