On March 2, 2023 (his sophomore year) he was warming up for pitching in his high school, South Meck’s, baseball game and felt a “tweak” in his left pitching arm but still felt he could play.That night after he pitched, his left arm was numb and he could not flex his left bicep at all. That’s when we knew something was wrong. He would sit out the rest of his sophomore spring season – it was a very rare injury, nothing textbook – lucky us.
He had EMGs and MRIs in April of 2023, and it felt like forever waiting for answers as to what was going on. Finally, he was informed that he had injured his musculocutaneous nerve and that there was not a surgery that could fix it. He would need to wait for it to slowly regenerate. This could take anywhere from 6-18 months. As you can imagine, this was VERY tough for him to hear. That meant no Summer 2023 travel ball and maybe a lot longer without baseball. In May he could finally flex his bicep again but complained about his shoulder and elbow not feeling good, so they ordered another MRI – it was deemed to look OK but that he needed physical therapy. That meant no Fall travel ball games, but he did go to Fall practices to try to keep his body from forgetting the muscle memory of pitching. Additionally, he had to have his appendix removed in December 2023. He had a good Spring and Summer of 2024; things were finally looking up. Wingate University had come to a few games and was interested in him. He thought he was finally out of the woods. He got an offer to play college ball from Wingate in July. Things were finally going his way, and his dreams were coming true.
Unfortunately, it was short-lived. September 2024 was one of his last-ever travel ball tournaments. He was pitching in Florida, and his right knee began to hurt significantly after the game. It was so painful he could barely withstand the 10-hour drive home. An MRI later showed a partial tear of his patella tendon. It caused him pain to simply walk. The month of October consisted of a lot of PT, but no progress was made. He was very discouraged. On November 7, 2024, doctors decided a PRP (Platelet Rich Plasma) injection into his tendon would be a good option. They drew blood, spun it in a machine to pull out all the good stuff, and injected it straight into his knee. Afterwards, he said it felt like someone took his knee off and sewed it back on. Dr Fennell gave him a very strict weekly process to follow and said he’d had great results with other athletes if Connor would follow the protocol. The first week was crutches and a complete straight leg brace. As of today, he has a lot of PT and follow-up appointments ahead of him, but he should recover and hopes to be on the mound Spring of 2025 for his senior year. Some days are better than others, he has days where he feels discouraged and days where he feels good. Through both injuries though, he never once thought about quitting baseball or giving up. He is the definition of perseverance.
