CHICAGO — Ro Coleman, Chicago's last player standing in college baseball's version of March Madness, takes great pride in his South Side roots.
"If it wasn't for Chicago, I wouldn't be where I'm at," said Coleman, a Washington Heights native and Simeon Career Academy graduate. "When I take the field, I'm representing Vanderbilt, Simeon and the city of Chicago."
Coleman, a Vandy sophomore outfielder, won the College World Series title as a freshman last year. Coleman and Vanderbilt are back in the best-of-three CWS finals, which begins at 7 p.m. Monday (ESPN) in a rematch against Virginia.
Coleman is the lone Chicago player in the CWS. His former Simeon teammates, Iowa's Blake Hickman and Louisville's Corey Ray, lost in the regionals and super regionals, respectively.
"With all the negativity out of Chicago, I'm just blessed and happy to be here," said Coleman, who is hitting .308 with 25 RBIs and 50 runs scored this season. "I just want to show other kids who are growing up in Chicago that you can make it out of the city, and that you just have to stay positive.
"I was hoping Blake and Corey could make it here, too, but I'm just blessed to be here again."
Coleman said baseball kept him off the streets and provided structure throughout his life, especially after he suited up for the White Sox Amateur City Elite program from age 13 to 17.
Kevin Coe, who runs the Sox's ACE program — which has placed several inner-city players in Division I universities and professional organizations — said Coleman "is the definition of hard work in the dictionary."
"He's a great kid that is a great example of what hard work and determination amounts to," said Coe, of McKinley Park.
Coleman said returning to Omaha has that same "surreal feeling" as last year, when they defeated Virginia to win the school's first CWS title.
And, of reaching college's baseball's biggest stage, Coleman said: "It probably won't hit me until we step on the field."
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