Cristian Burciaga has always dreamed of playing baseball beyond the high school level, and the Rochelle senior took one step closer to achieving his goal when he announced he would be continuing his career at Kankakee Community College.

Burciaga, who primarily plays first base but also pitches for the Hubs varsity baseball team, has been an integral part of the group’s success this season, leading the way with eight home runs including a walk-off shot to beat the Kaneland Knights back in April. He said he’s excited to keep his dream alive, and he’s looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead.

“It takes a lot of weight off my shoulders that, instead of looking for particular teams, I can just focus on baseball and knowing that I have a set place,” Burciaga said. “It’s going to be my new home. It’s a very well set program and the coach is hard on the kids, but he knows what he’s doing so it gives us more confidence to know what we’re doing on the field.”

The senior slugger crushed three homers and drove in five runs during Rochelle’s first game of a doubleheader against Plano this past weekend, showcasing the power and skills at the plate that put him on the scene two years ago as a sophomore. The Hubs will need all they can get from Burciaga when they face the Sterling Golden Warriors in the IHSA Class 3A Regional Semifinals this coming Thursday at Rochelle Township High School.

“He’s been on varsity for four years and he’s played a lot of good baseball for us,” head coach Jarrod Reynolds said. “He hit over .400 for most of his sophomore year and helped solidify our lineup, and this year he’s done a nice job coming up with a lot of big hits for us. It’s been nice to have that anchor in our lineup.”

Burciaga said he plans to get an associate’s degree in business before moving on to pursue a bachelor’s degree in sports management. A multi-sport athlete who also played football for the Hubs, the senior said he wants to stay around sports for as long as he can.

“I don’t want to sit in an office,” he said. “I want to stay in my normal environment and be in the football aspect of management, the baseball aspect of management or just sports in general.”

Things weren’t always crystal clear for Burciaga, who suffered a brutal knee injury this past fall that forced him to miss nearly his entire senior football season. He was cleared just in time for baseball season, but only after several months of strenuous rehab that pushed the senior to his limits.

He knew it would be difficult, but he said he had no doubt he would be back on the field to finish what he started.

“I just worked my butt off and hoped for the best,” Burciaga said. “I feel like my dream is still up there. I just have to keep working toward it… My parents and the players I’ve grown up with like Kyle [Seebach], Landon [Griffith] and Caleb [Gould] have pushed me to the max.”