Freshman Miguel León started playing baseball at three-years- old. Miguel, the youngest of three children in his family, is fluent in Spanish, as well as English. He was born in the US but has a Latino heritage, in which he takes immense pride.

Miguel’s Dad who is from Caracas, Venezuela, was the person who got him into baseball in the first place. He said, “The first time I played baseball, I fell in love with the game.” He remembers the times when he had a plastic bat and ball and would go outside with his grandfather, playing until he got tired.

The reasons why Miguel plays baseball are because of his love for the game and the life lessons that the game has taught him.

Miguel said, “It teaches mental toughness because, in life, no matter how difficult it gets, we must keep moving forward.”

Miguel said the bonds he has created with his teammates and relationships that he has created with his coaches will last forever. When he got to Maryland, he said the coaches made him and the other players feel like family.

When it came to Miguel’s making his commitment to University of Maryland he said, “I was anticipating an offer from Maryland, and I have wanted to go to Maryland ever since I met the coaches and learned about their program.”

He added, “Universities can only give out so many scholarships, and everything seemed perfect. It was a life-changing opportunity, so I had to take advantage of it.”

Miguel mentioned that Maryland Head Coach Rob Vaughn passionately believes that if someone surrounds themselves with good people and good culture, they will be successful. This is important to Miguel because, in the recruiting process, it was interesting for him to see what coaches prioritized.

Miguel said, “I know when I stepped foot on that campus, I wanted to be a Terp. I also chose Maryland because it is close to home and family can watch me play. . . Most schools will try to make them go to their school because of all the flashy things.”

He added that Maryland never felt that way.