CHICAGO (CBS) — The Lane Tech baseball team once again has a talented roster of players. That includes one of their pitchers, senior Amaan Khan, who had a very special opportunity to showcase his talent on the world stage while still in high school.
Kern is all smiles as he helped Lane Tech win the Jackie Robinson North Baseball Conference title.
“I grew up always wanting to go to the lane, so being able to win a conference championship means everything to me,” he said.
“Winning means a lot. Winning the conference every year is one of our main goals, so that’s the first thing we check off for this group,” Lane Tech head coach Sean Freeman said. ” he said.
Khan was victorious, clinching the Lane Tech title. Pitching in big spots is nothing new for the senior. Khan, whose mother was born in Pakistan, had the opportunity to pitch for the Pakistan national team. His first chance came at the World Baseball Classic when he was just 16 years old.
“It’s a great opportunity for high school students,” Freeman said. “When he first told me that, I was like, ‘World Baseball Classic? The one that’s going to be on ESPN and all the major league stars?’ I checked and saw what the role was. I was very happy because I understood that.”
“The opportunity to represent your place of origin and your heritage means so much,” Khan said. “When you play with something like that, you play with so much passion. It’s a great opportunity.”
He got his second chance to pitch for Pakistan at the Asian Championships held in Taiwan in December last year.
“I pitched really well and pitched five scoreless innings,” he said. “We got to play against Japan. That was probably the best thing I’ve ever experienced. I came in a low-leverage spot and was relaxed and pitching against a team like that. It was really, really great to be able to do that. Thank God it worked out.” It was really cool. ”
While Khan’s experience representing Pakistan is obviously special, it’s also great for his Lane Tech teammates to be able to watch their friends pitch on such a big stage at home.
“It was really fun to turn on the TV at 4 o’clock in the morning and watch my best friend pitch,” said Lane Tech senior Ethan Bogren. “It’s so surreal and it’s really great to have him back and talk about all those experiences. I was really happy for him and he handled it really well. .”
Kern, who is committed to Lenoir-Rhyne, is a member of several players who plan to play collegiate baseball at Lane Tech, including Ethan Bogren, who will attend Northwestern University, and freshman phenom Sebastian Wilson, who is already committed to the University of Tennessee. He is one of the players. The champions hope all this talent will help Deep State advance to the tournament.
“We did a lot of work in the offseason. We set a lot of goals. We know the work is not done yet,” Bolgren said.
“This team has put a lot of work into this and we’re very excited about everything going forward,” Khan said.
Kern and Lane Tech’s next game is this week in the Chicago Public Schools Playoffs. They then move on to the IHSA playoffs to determine the No. 2 seed in Class 4A.
