Mr. Szuminski gave up the dream of a professional baseball career at age 17 when he came to MIT in 1996 to study aeronautics on an Air Force ROTC scholarship. It seemed like the smartest thing to do. His dream was rekindled in June when he was chosen on the 27th round of the major-league baseball draft by the Chicago Cubs , only the second MIT student ever to be drafted. That would truly shatter the baseball dream. The Cubs offered to reimburse the Air Force for Mr. Szuminski's scholarship.
Discussions are ongoing.
Mr. Szuminski believes that teams were hesitant to draft him because of his ROTC commitment. I got a little bigger and started throwing a lot harder. I was pretty good in high school but not exceptional. If I had a choice, I'd like to continue playing. But I'm not the one who gets to decide.