More to Life Than Baseball for Nick Schnell

Nick Schnell is in his second stint with the Charleston RiverDogs, joining the team this June after playing 53 games last year. He plays outfield and hits in middle of the order.

Born and raised in the southernmost part of Indianapolis, Indiana, Schnell describes the city as a big city with a small-town feel, where everybody knows everybody. He comes from a baseball family, as his older brother, Aaron, played college baseball at Belmont.

Growing up, Schnell went to Roncalli High School, a Catholic school in Indianapolis. This is where he realized that he would have an opportunity to extend his baseball career.

“I realized my freshman year that I would have a chance to play to play in college,” he said. “Going into my senior year is when I realized that I would have a chance to be drafted.”

He got his chance in 2018. With the 32nd pick in the 2018 MLB Draft, he was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the first round of the draft.

There was a lot on Schnell’s mind leading up to the draft. His Roncalli Royals were in the Region Championship the night before the draft, taking on their rival.

They won the game, and the day after the draft, Schnell sat on the field for about an hour and was able to just take in what had just happened. He ultimately decided to bypass his scholarship to play at Louisville and sign with the Rays.

Schnell was sent to the Florida Coast League, where he hit a home run in his first professional at bat; however, 18 games into the 2018 season, he felt a pop in his wrist on a foul ball that caused him to miss the rest of the season.

“It was a fluke thing,” he said. “The lunate bone in the wrist has a little hill in it, and when I took a swing, something broke.”

Schnell worked his way back and was ready for the start of Spring Training in 2019, when another injury forced him to miss time. He started feeling pain in his knee and tried to play through in it.

When he went to the athletic trainer, they found a fray on his ACL, which would be a six to eight-week recovery. This was a gradual injury from playing football and basketball growing up.

After the recovery, Schnell was sent to Princeton, the rookie ball team in the Rays organization, where in 37 games, he hit .286 with eight home runs and drove in 29 runs. After that, he was sent to High-A Bowling Green, where he played his final 14 games to finish out the year. During that time, he hit .236 with an RBI.

Coming into the 2021 season, Schnell was sent to Charleston, where he played in 52 games for the RiverDogs before another injury halted his playing career.

When the Rays sent him to a specialist, they found a small tear in his labrum. This injury took place during the 2020 season. When the coronavirus shut everything down, Schnell focused on weightlifting to get bigger and stronger.

“I tried to play through it,” said Schnell. “There was an outlet symptom, which is when my collarbone and shoulder are close together, and it constricts the nerves to where my muscles cannot grow the way they are supposed to.”

During his time away from the game, he and RiverDogs teammate Cole Wilcox, who was also dealing with an injury, wanted to keep their minds on baseball during their recovery. That is when they started their podcast “Diamonds in the Rough.”

“We were just wasting time playing Mario Cart and darts,” said Schnell. “We were thinking about ways to keep our minds on baseball, and we wanted to start a podcast that talks about how life is in the minors,” said Schnell.

The show has grown since it began last year. They have signed multiple sponsorship deals and are sponsorship Prospects Live.

The podcast was not the only change in Schnell’s life during his time away from the game, as he also became a father for the first time. Eight weeks ago, he and his wife gave birth to their son, Bo.

“He has been the biggest blessing in my life,” said Schnell. “Being a dad is the best thing in the world. He and my wife live in Charleston as well and make all the trips with me.”

Through it all, Schnell has learned a lot about himself. There is a lot of pressure to perform at a high level that comes with being a high draft pick, and he felt that pressure.

“When you’re young, being drafted at 18, going through the injuries, I have learned a lot,” said Schnell. Have fun; it’s a game. Do not put so much pressure on yourself. Having my son has put things into perspective.”

Schnell has been a big part of the RiverDogs team that finished just a game away from clinching a playoff spot in the first half of the Carolina League season, and his efforts will be crucial as the RiverDogs aim to clinch a spot in the second half.