Jan. 23, 2020
Nine-year-old Boy Drafted by CWU Baseball Team, Shares About Life with McCune-Albright Syndrome
Jack Keeling is a pretty big deal for a nine-year-old: he’s well-traveled, he has a dedicated Facebook page and he’s the youngest player ever drafted by the Central Washington University men’s baseball team.
Swarmed by fans, family members and reporters at a Wednesday press conference, Jack signed a National Letter of Intent and officially became a college athlete — all before graduating from elementary school.
“We’re extremely fortunate to have him on the team with us,” player Jaden Hassell said.
Answering questions and laughing at his sister making funny faces, Jack said he’s happy and ready to have fun; he’s been waiting a long time for this moment.
“He’s gone through so much,” Jack’s mother Megan Keeling said. “It’s not gone easy. He’s had a couple of really bad experiences.”
His journey began about six years ago, when a routine appointment led to a doctor asking for an x-ray. Later, Megan got a call no mother wants to receive.
The doctor told Megan that Jack had a lesion on his femur and told her the radiologist thought it might be cancer.
“This is just the beginning. Things will get worse before they get better,” Megan wrote in a 2016 letter to her past self, the ‘Meg’ before her son was diagnosed.
Watch the video newscast and read this article in its entirety online at KAPP-TV/KVEW-TV.