ILH BASEBALL: Punahou's Rosen commits to Portland

By Wes Nakama
HHSAA

Punahou senior Jason Rosen has made a verbal commitment to play baseball for the University of Portland next season.

Rosen, a 6-foot-1 outfielder, batted .368 with 13 RBIs in 16 Interscholastic League of Honolulu games last year. He is a centerfielder at Punahou but said he may play any of the outfield positions at Portland.

Rosen had visited the Portland campus last summer during a non-athletic college tour and got to meet baseball head coach Chris Sperry during a showcase event at Hans L'Orange Field this past October.

"I was already considering applying to the school, I walked around the campus and really liked it," said Rosen, who also received interest from Hawai'i Pacific, San Jose State, Wiilamette, Puget Sound and Westmont. "It wasn't just about playing (NCAA) Division I, although that was part of it. I wanted the best competition."

At the showcase event, Rosen was timed in the 60-yard dash, took a couple rounds of batting practice and did some outfield throwing drills in addition to live game action -- with Sperry watching closely.

"That was the first time I ever talked to him," Rosen said. "Actually, the whole staff is really nice."