Dakota loses hard-fought state semifinal game to LeRoy in extra innings
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Chicago Tribune
18-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Let go by Philadelphia Phillies, Providence's Dakota Kotowski powers up for Windy City ThunderBolts. ‘Really cool.'
When he was released last summer by the Philadelphia Phillies organization, Providence graduate Dakota Kotowski made a quick decision. He wasn't done yet. Kotowski decided his love for baseball was still strong and he wasn't ready to give up. He quickly went back to training, then signed with the Windy City ThunderBolts for the 2025 season. 'I got released, and the first thing I did was call my parents,' Kotowski said. 'They picked me up from the airport the next day. It's kind of a life-changing thing, obviously, but I didn't really have time to be sad. I knew I wanted to keep playing.' In Crestwood, Kotowski is showcasing the power that originally sparked the interest of major-league organizations. As the second half of the Frontier League season was set to begin Friday, Kotowski led the T-Bolts with 12 home runs and was tied for the team lead in RBIs with 35. Before any of that could happen, though, Kotowski had to sit down and reflect on where he wanted his life to go. Kotowski spent three seasons in the Phillies organization. His highest level reached was with Class-A Clearwater, where he played 71 games. Overall, in those three seasons, he hit .253 with 24 homers and 79 RBIs. The Phillies released him in July 2024. He considered his options but decided to play on. 'I asked my mom and dad if they thought I should do it and they said, 'Dakota, you're young and you're single and you can only do this once,'' Kotowski said. 'That's where I kind of took the green light on the opportunity and I'm thankful I did. 'There's nothing like being between these two white lines. I get to play a kid's game and that's all you can ask for.' Doing it close to home is a bonus. Kotowski played in college at Missouri State and was on Florida-based teams each of the last three seasons. 'It's a new experience,' Kotowski said. 'I've been away from home since I was 18 years old. My sisters are growing up. I'm the oldest of four kids, so it's cool to get to see them do a lot of things that I missed out on before and seeing them grow up is really cool.' While Kotowski has put together plenty of big swings for the T-Bolts, his ability to consistently make contact has been an issue. He went into the All-Star break with 74 strikeouts in 189 at-bats and was hitting .201. Windy City hitting coach Kevin Santiago, who was also recently named the new head coach at Chicago Christian, said the T-Bolts staff knows what to expect from Kotowski. Now, it's just a matter of refinement. 'We told him that this is the kind of guy you are,' Santiago said. 'There's going to be some swing-and-miss. You're going to chase a little bit. But just stick to who you are and you're going to run balls out of the park. 'He's a great guy. He puts in the work every day. It's just a matter of knowing his strengths, a pitcher's strengths and figuring out how we want to attack. Dakota can definitely change a game with his power.' That ability to hit the ball out of the park is what continues to give Kotowski hope that he can earn another shot with a major-league organization. 'I've been blessed to have the frame that I do,' he said. 'I'm 6-5, 250 pounds. You never know when you're going to figure it out, and if you do that, there are a lot of people who would like to have a bigger guy that can play the outfield. 'I try to look at everything from a positive standpoint and not a negative one. Take it day by day and see what happens.'
New York Post
17-06-2025
- New York Post
Surfing legend's 20-year-old son ‘fighting for his life' after being pinned between cars in devastating accident
The 20-year-old son of Pipeline surfing great Shawn Briley is 'fighting for his life' in the ICU after he was 'pinned between two vehicles' in Hawaii over the weekend and 'sustained serious and extensive injuries.' Dakota Briley, a surfer based on the North Shore of Oahu, was struck on the side of the island's Kamehameha Highway and hospitalized with 'multiple fractures in his legs, pelvis, ribs, and skull,' according to a GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the athlete, who also endured 'unthinkable injuries' to his spine. 4 Dakota Briley, the son of Pipeline surfing great Shawn Briley, is 'fighting for his life' following a devastating incident over the weekend. Ryder Briley/Instagram 4 The young surfer is currently hospitalized. Ryder Briley/Instagram 'Please continue to pray for our Dakota, he's in really rough shape and needs a miracle from god,' Dakota's brother Ryder wrote in an Instagram Story Monday. 'His ribs have been crushed, his spine is severed and broken in multiple places, the back of his skull has been crushed, fractured in over 8 places, from the hip down his legs have been crushed. He needs a miracle, please pray for God to make him whole again.' As of Tuesday, more than $51,000 has been raised, surpassing the fundraiser's original goal of $50,000. 4 Dakota Briley, pictured here in 2023 and tagged on Instagram at the far left, with his family. Natasha Briley/Instagram 4 A GoFundMe has been set up on Dakota Briley's behalf. Ryder Briley/Instagram '[Dakota's] incredible medical team were able to stabilize his legs and are now working tirelessly on multiple surgeries to the rest of his body,' the GoFundMe page noted. '… Our hope is that God performs a miracle.' Ryder added in a separate Instagram slide Monday that Dakota is 'the strongest person' he knows. 'This boy is a true warrior, the strongest person I know, so stubborn, I know you're not going anywhere,' he wrote of Dakota. 'Keep fighting for us.' The elder Briley won the Tavarua Tube Classic in 1995.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Yahoo
Local residents gain more insights into Fred VanVleet with his appearance at the Diamonds Storytelling Gale in Rockford
ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — We in Rockford all know who Fred VanVleet is, the Houston Rockets guard who is an NBA champion and has been an NBA All-Star who launched his basketball career here at Auburn High School. Thursday night, many folks got to know him on a deeper level at the third annual Diamonds Storytelling Gala in Rockford. VanVleet is known for always having 'bet on himself', so it's only fitting that this Diamonds event was held at Hard Rock Casino Rockford in the live was the third annual Diamonds event put on by the Founders Commission, a night to spotlight someone who grew up in the Rockford Region, and who has gone on to have tremendous success while also giving back to the Rockford first year the special guest was U.S. Navy Top Gun instructor Michael Andrews. Last year that individual was Rockford native and Grammy Award winner Michelle Williams.'This Diamonds Gala is really a great flagship program of the Founders Commission,' said the President of The Founders Commission Nick Povalitis. 'It really embodies what we're trying to do which is bring people back home.'The event emcee for the third straight year was ESPN SportsCenter anchor and nearby Roscoe, Illinois native Nicole Briscoe. Briscoe is now also on the Founders Commission Board.'Being here and being inspired by the stories inspired me to want to do more…be a part of the scholarship committee. Be as much a part of this event as much as I possibly could.'The dress for the event was formal, but everyone was encouraged to wear sneakers as a tribute to the event, two Oregon High School students received scholarships from the Founders Commission. Povalitis announced that the Founders Commission is starting up a Hall of Fame that will consist of people from the Rockford Region who have gone on to do big things in the fields of entertainment, the arts, business and sports.A check for more than $19,000 was presented to the nonprofit VanVleet Family Foundation. That money will be poured back into the the highlight of the night was Briscoe's informal sit-down interview with VanVleet and a question-and-answer session with the said he began betting on himself at a very young age.'I definitely remember being 6-7-8 years old and telling my mom I was going to the NBA.'He emphasized the importance of having the support of a family and of other people in order to have success, but he says in the end, it's that inner drive that counts the most as to how much success one achieves.'If you're waiting for someone else to give you that push or that confidence, then you probably don't have any in the first place.'VanVleet was asked if he wanted to coach one day. He said he'd rather not because he doesn't always want to be yelling at people. He much more prefers teaching basketball than coaching was asked how he feels he's done off the court as a partner, father, son, and in his other relationships. He believes he's done a great job as a father, but there is room for improvement elsewhere. When asked whether or not he would encourage his young son Fred Jr. to pursue an NBA career, VanVleet said his son is more interested in baseball right now. VanVleet says whatever his son chooses to do, he needs to work at it. Sometimes now VanVleet takes his son to parks to pitch baseballs to him and to play said that when he was a free agent a couple years ago, the Chicago Bulls never reached out to him.'They never called.' (laughter from the crowd). 'They never called.'He was asked about the shoutout he gave to Rockford on national TV right after he and the Toronto Raptors won the NBA championship when he stared into the camera and proclaimed, 'Rockford, this one's for you!''This city made me who I am,' said VanVleet. 'It's given me my character and my edge and my discipline, so it's like, at a certain level I owe that much to put the city on the map as well.'VanVleet says there are so many things he wants to do in the future in terms of giving back to Rockford, giving back to people in general that he sometimes can't sleep at night thinking about them. Rockford is a city VanVleet keeps returning to every summer after his NBA season ends to relax and to reconnect because this city means so much to him. That was evident again Thursday VanVleet will be hosting his annual 'Bet on Yourself' youth summer basketball camp in Rockford on Saturday at the UW-Health Sports Factory in downtown Founders Commission is a certified 501©(3) charitable organization that celebrates and leverages the Rockford region's excellence and ingenuity in business, arts and entertainment, and sports for brand, economic and social good. For more information visit Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
