Darrell Wilson better known as D.J. to the Viterbo community has been a dedicated baseball player from the time he was nine years old. The sport of baseball has led him on many great adventures and led him to people he considers family now. Now 13 years later, D.J. is going to be hanging up his cleats to pursue his goal to become a teacher.
D.J. is from Littleton, Colorado, and began playing baseball at the age of nine. He says he has always had a passion for baseball and knew that he wanted to pursue this further. He was always a good player and knew he had what it takes to play at another level. It wasn’t until he watched the college world series where he knew that he wanted to take his baseball career to the next level. He knew he wanted to continue his baseball career from a young age, not only because of his skill level, but the bonds he has formed during his long career. He credits baseball for giving him some of his best friends. D.J. is also no stranger to traveling due to his sport; he was lucky enough to play in California on the fourth of July while fireworks went off in the background; he says this is his fondest memory of playing baseball.
D.J. attended Columbine high school in Colorado and earned two varsity letters and honorable mentions all-conference selection. He says that he found Viterbo through the baseball coach reaching out to him. What really caught his attention was that he has never been to Wisconsin and wanted to expand to see new things. The thing that really sealed the deal for him was once he came out for a visit, he says when he came, he fell in love with the bluffs and the river in La Crosse. The atmosphere at Viterbo gave him the feeling of family, which is what D.J. was looking for in a college.
After arriving at Viterbo, he was able to earn himself some playing time starting 35 of the 36 games he played. Being an athlete is all great, but there is work that has to get done behind the scenes, and D.J. says he was always motivated to do what it takes to stay on the field. In the classroom, he said that with all the traveling he has to do there are going to be a lot of classes that he would miss. This is where he preaches communication with all the professors, just making sure they know the schedule and whether they allow make up work for those missed days. D.J. says this is what he had to do to stay on top in the classroom and stay out on the field.
Baseball is more than just a fun game; he dedicated 13 years of his life to the sport he loved and has credited baseball with some of his personality characteristics. He tells that baseball has taught him how to be resilient and focus on his goals. D.J. looks to carry those lesson with him into his career and pass it on to the younger generations.
Now that his career is coming to an end, he is looking forward to going out and teaching the youth. He would love the chance to coach baseball in the future and even become an athletic director to stay involved. One thing D.J. says he will miss the most is the friendships he has built, just the team atmosphere and the competition.
When asked if he is satisfied with the way his career ended D.J. said, “It was tough to have my career cut short by COVID, but in my time here at Viterbo, I think I have helped move the program in the right direction, so I am happy with my career ending at this point. I feel like I have accomplished a lot and helped guide the younger guys on the team.” He is satisfied with this being the end of the road and will leave Viterbo to pass on the lessons he’s learned to the next generation.
