OUTSTANDING OWL

This week’s Outstanding Owl is a heavy hitter. An assistant coach for the Temple baseball team, he is also an undergraduate student.

Rob Kell is no ordinary student. He has a past that many of us could only dream of.

From Hatfield, Pa., he graduated from Penn Ridge High School. Baseball was Kell’s talent and he took advantage of it from day one, pitching himself into victory lane.

After graduating from high school in 1989 as his team’s ace pitcher, his talent and relentless hard work brought him to Temple to play baseball.

At the bottom of his junior year he received a phone call that would shape the next seven years of his life.

The Texas Rangers asked Kell if he would like to pitch for them. Kell seized the opportunity, starting his career with immediate success.

In his best season he threw 170 strikeouts, 41 walks, in 170 innings with three complete games. He was then drafted to play overseas in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. He played in Taiwan with an affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kell took the team to the Chinese League Championship. That’s when his plans started to change.

“I got married,” Kell exclaimed. “I decided that my marriage came first, so I came home. When I got here, I realized how much I missed my home.”

He eventually returned to the game, but following an injury, he couldn’t play anymore. He took a long break and focused his sights in a new direction.

“I knew I was meant on the field, and I wanted to finish my degree, so I returned to the place that made it all happen in the first place. I came home to Temple,” Kell said.

It is here that Kell can be found either buried in a book or yelling out plays on the diamond.

“I wouldn’t have changed any of it for the world,” Kell said. “My life has been a dream so far, and being back here at Temple is just another new exiting beginning. Ha, guess what, I even have a 4.0.”

Kell’s advice to students is to seize all the opportunities that come your way.

“My life has been filled with ups and downs, but
I knew when to seize an opportunity and never take anything for granted,” he said. “You see, life is like a game. You have to be in it to win it.”

Kell contributes his success to head coach Skip Wilson for his help as a player and a coach.

Kell definitely steps up to the plate and makes it happen. This is one big league, outstanding Owl that’s definitely on the road to a successful spring semester. Or is that spring season?