With a college baseball career that has spanned five years and over 150 games, Bradley senior catcher Keaton Rice is more than glad to have spent such a decorated period with the Braves.
“It’s been really fun,” Rice said. “I’ve learned a lot [and] met a lot of people from just about any part of the U.S.; it’s been a lot of fun and a really good learning experience.”
A native of Geneseo, Illinois, Rice has been around the diamond for quite a while and his style of play has only helped the Braves ball club as a whole. Born with a talented arm, Rice has developed into a defensive specialist behind the plate — not trying to do too much, but simultaneously, being a threat to all baserunners who cross his path.
Take a look at the program’s record book, and you’ll be sure to find Rice represented. While he currently sits at fourth in walks taken and tied for first in runners thrown out on the base path, Rice’s stats only tell one part of a multi-faceted journey.
“In previous years, I think he was pretty hesitant [to be a vocal leader],” head coach Elvis Dominguez said. “We were a mature staff, and for him to come in, he just didn’t have to say much and was a quiet leader.”
Rice chose to be that quiet leader, and in doing so allowed his bat to speak for him.
With a .316 average and a .419 on-base percentage in his freshman year of 2018, Rice came onto the Bradley baseball scene like a rocket. His first year with the club provided him the opportunity to earn 43 starts. Rice put the trust from his coaching staff to good use with some stellar numbers and earned an All-MVC second team honor, along with being represented on the Johnny Bench Award Watch List in 2018.
Since then, the bat has stayed steady and as Rice began to become a key cog on the team, he began to develop even more as a catcher. A danger to all opponents who try to run on him, Rice’s game has seemed to develop into one of his idols, longtime St. Louis Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, even though he doesn’t think so himself.
“I wouldn’t compare myself to him at all,” Rice said. “[Molina] is one of a kind and someone I look up to a lot so to be compared to him, even by the littlest, means a lot.”
Even with the senior’s steady offensive game thanks to his knowledge of the strike zone, and a defensive game that has become his bread and butter, Dominguez has seen the biggest jump in how Rice leads.
“He’s become more vocal and a bigger presence back there,” Dominguez said. “He’s really taken the leadership role by mentoring the guys, especially the young catchers, but talking to the pitchers at the next level as well.”
That jump has made Rice a multi-dimensional player. A good bat, a strong arm and a keen sense of the strike zone are all great, but what Rice has decided to add to his arsenal is the ability to be the one who leads a charge. One that says all the right things, and passes his wisdom down – a player that can lead a program.
“Anytime you have a program that the coaches lead, it’s not a very good program,” Dominguez said. “When you have the players lead, that makes for a very good program, and he’s become one of those guys.”
Rice’s adaptation to being one of the more vocal leaders on the team has benefitted the group as a whole. Teammates are more comfortable to ask questions and the pitching staff has confidence with him behind the plate.
Being that encouraging voice in the clubhouse and the dugout has translated through the years, and no matter what the score says, Rice has shown the ability to display the unrelenting confidence in his teammates.
“[It’s] just giving them confidence,” Rice said. “Whether it’s a strike or a ball, I’m going to be back there building them up, and making sure that next pitch they’re going to execute.”
The Braves senior catcher has been a mainstay on the team since he arrived in 2018. Dominguez feels the joy to have watched him grow into both a better baseball player, and a better leader; something that he’ll take away when Rice moves on to the next level.
“He’s just that good,” Dominguez said. “He’s got one of the best throwing arms in the country. He’s going to be missed; let’s just put it that way.”
