ROCHELLE — Senior left-hander Dylan Whaley said his throwing arm felt stronger than it had felt all season when he prepared to take the mound for the Rochelle Hub varsity baseball team during an Interstate 8 Conference matchup against the talented Morris Redskins on April 24.

Whaley’s confidence was reflected in his early performance, as he struck out the side in the first inning and was cruising into the third inning. Motivated to showcase his talents against one of the top baseball teams in the conference, Whaley was well positioned for a strong outing on the mound, but everything changed when an ordinary pitch quickly became a devastating injury.

“I was feeling pretty confident going into the game,” Whaley said. “I was throwing the hardest I had thrown all season and I wasn’t feeling any pain… I felt a pop in my arm on one random pitch and when it happened, I knew it was something in my arm and it hurt pretty bad. I tried to throw one more pitch after, but it was ball four and it was a pretty bad pitch… I had to take myself out of the game and it was a pretty sad experience and I felt like I let my team down.”

Whaley was diagnosed with a torn UCL in his left arm and his senior season was immediately cut short. While it was a disappointing end to his high school career, Whaley has already started recovering from Tommy John surgery, which he underwent in early May. High school baseball will not be the end for Whaley, either, as the senior has signed to continue his academics and his baseball career at Waubonsee Community College, where he intends to keep pitching.

“I chose Waubonsee because I felt a special connection there right from the start,” Whaley said. “I felt like Waubonsee would make me a better baseball player. When I visited the campus and met the coaches, I became more confident in my decision because they explained to me how I could become better, even though I had a pretty bad injury. They see my potential and I liked how the coaches explained their academic programs. I appreciated how much time the coaches spent with me, even after the injury, and the coaches staying with me has been a big plus.”

Whaley spent four years with the Rochelle Hub baseball program, with his junior and senior seasons coming at the varsity level. The left-hander ranked second on the team in innings (32) during his junior season, when he posted a 5.25 ERA with 29 strikeouts. Whaley threw 19.2 innings and struck out 21 batters during his injury-shortened senior season this spring. Whaley said he intends to complete two years at Waubonsee before transferring to a four-year school.

“I know I’ll be surrounded by a lot of guys who’re better than me, but that’s only going to motivate me to get better,” Whaley said. “I know I’m going to do my best in rehab and I’m going to enter their system and work as hard as I can to compete at a high level… Rochelle helped me a lot and I learned valuable life lessons that guided me in the right direction. I’ve had a lot of great coaches over the years and I’ve worked on my own time to earn a lot of innings.”

Whaley’s future goals include pursuing an education in construction management and playing baseball at a four-year school. But for now, Whaley’s primary focus is on rehabbing his UCL injury, which will prevent him from playing baseball this summer. With an estimated recovery timeline of 10-to-12 months, Whaley said his goal is to return to the mound sometime during his freshman season at Waubonsee. The senior also said he hopes to eventually become a starter.

“All of the guys at Rochelle were great and we had a big family bond,” Whaley said. “I thought I improved the most during my junior year, which was where I started getting into pitching more… I put on 20 pounds and I went from throwing 68 MPH during my junior year to around 83 MPH during my senior year. Coach [Jarrod] Reynolds definitely guided me in the right direction.”