10-year-old Benjamin Ashley is a fifth grader at Jack Elementary and has been an Oak Creek resident since 2021. Around the neighborhood, he loves going to the club pool and hanging out in the backyard of his house, where he can bounce on his trampoline and utilize the space to work on his athletic abilities. 

A multi-sport athlete, Benjamin has played soccer, basketball and baseball, which is his favorite; he just finished up baseball season on two teams: Catch 43 Stealth and the Tyler Wildcatters. “I have played every position, but mostly catcher, third base, and second base,” Benjamin says. “I started playing soccer and T-ball at 3 years old and picked up basketball at 7 years old.” 

Benjamin gives credit to those in his life and heroes in the big leagues for his passion for the game. His dad taught him baseball, has coached some of his teams, and encourages him to reach his full potential both on and off the field. He mentions Coach Cody Jamison and the other coaches at D-BAT who have helped Benjamin refine his game and taught him to have fun while still working hard. In the majors, Benjamin models his game after Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh and New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge. 

“My priority is school,” says Benjamin about how he balances schoolwork and athletic commitments. “I try my best to get my homework done so I can play sports after. School always comes first.” Achieving this balance takes discipline, which is not easy, but it pays off. Discipline in the classroom and on the diamond helped Benjamin achieve his favorite moment of his young career: hitting his first home run. “I had been working hard to improve my power at the plate and it paid off big time,” Benjamin says. 

Benjamin may not have accomplished that home run if he wasn’t swinging for the fences. He says sometimes in baseball, you strike out or commit an error, just like in life. “I’ve learned not to let what happened the last time affect the next time,” he says. “In other words, don’t let past failures influence future opportunities.” 

Through his experiences, Benjamin advises other young athletes to work hard and never give up on their dreams. He will do exactly that as he aims to achieve his goal of playing baseball for Tyler Legacy High School. Beyond that, he dreams of playing college baseball at Texas A&M University, followed by the MLB; any team would be a massive achievement, but Benjamin would prefer the Mariners. As Benjamin Ashley steps up to the plate to achieve his dreams, you can be sure he’ll be swinging for the fences.