From breaking the school scoring record with 38 points against Apex basketball to setting the school record for stolen bases in a career, Mason Dean’s (‘25) career as a Green Hope athlete has caught the attention of many. The D1 commit recently sat down with the Green Hope Falcon to discuss his athletic journey thus far.
Given that he plays two varsity sports now, Dean has been a man of many talents since the beginning. Before he decided to pursue competitive baseball in the seventh grade, Dean discussed how his love for baseball motivated him to get to where he is now. “When I was little, I played rec baseball with the Town of Cary but not any baseball competitively. Though I only played once a week, my coaches helped me love the game. My favorite part of every week was getting to go to baseball. Once in seventh grade, I decided to shift my focus from swimming to baseball.” From playing on the rec league fields of elementary school to committing to play division one baseball, Dean’s love for his sport has carried him to places he would have never imagined.
As per his training regimen, Dean, like many student-athletes, balances the load of practices, games and studying. With as much as he does, Dean finds himself splitting his schedule up by season. “Over the summer, I was mainly focused on baseball. I’d hit in the mornings with my friends, many of which currently play or will play baseball in college, and then I’d go to the gym. I also played with my club team, practicing two to three days a week and playing in tournaments on the weekends.” Once school gets into session Dean says, “In the fall, I do two hours of baseball right after school, 2:30 to 4:30, and then we have basketball from 6:30 to 8:30. Around that I have to be able to lift, eat dinner, and then study. I like being able to do both baseball and basketball workouts in the fall because I can build connections with my new teammates and coaches.” Once basketball starts in the winter and baseball starts in the spring, Dean stays committed to whichever sport is currently in season.
Awaiting his final season in both sports, Dean reminisces on the past three years and looks forward to what’s to come. In his time spent at Green Hope, Dean has his fair share of memories stemming from his athletics. As per his favorites, Dean claims, “For basketball, my favorite moment was last year when we beat Apex in overtime … it was a very exciting game at the end. My teammates were able to make big defensive plays that forced the game to go to overtime helping us to a big conference win.” Dean also shared his favorite moment from baseball, one of an underdog tale. Dean recalled “For baseball, my favorite moment is from my freshman year when we played Leesville. We had a young team. We didn’t start any seniors, but our pitchers threw a great game. We were winning 3 -1 going to the last inning, and I made a diving play in center field to end the game.” He recounts how excited his teammates were, with the celebration ending up in the outfield. From overtime wins on the court to diving plays in the outfield, Dean lives in the clutch and hopes to make even more of these memories during his senior year.
Dean shares his goals for his final year as a Green Hope athlete in both sports. Amidst personnel changes in both basketball and baseball, Dean remains hopeful in the potential of both teams saying “For basketball, I definitely want to make playoffs. We got lots of new talent that’s very promising. I think we can definitely make playoffs, and my goal is to finish in the top three in the conference. For baseball, my goal is also to make playoffs. We made playoffs last year, but we did lose a lot of talent. We lost double-digit seniors and we lost one of our best sophomores. We have new players that are ready to step in those holes, and I think it’s going to be exciting.” Regardless of the changes in rosters, Dean is confident in both teams’ abilities and is eager to start playing with these goals in mind.
Only 8.1% of high school baseball players continue to play at the collegiate level and just 2.1% commit to play division one. Being part of this select few is quite the process, and Mason Dean provided the Green Hope Falcon with information regarding his recruitment specifically. Dean gained the attention of college coaches early on, starting after his freshman year. “I would send [coaches] emails with videos of me playing and then the summer season after my freshman year was a pretty strong summer. Starting sophomore year, I would go to camps where on weekends I’d wake up early, go down to a college I was interested in, do a workout in front of coaches and then we would talk.” Dean continued to go to these camps and play in tournament games to gain additional exposure but claims that this past summer was when things really started to pick up. “I went to a camp in Richmond where I got a lot of visit invites after playing well. Later in the summer I went and played in Boston where Fordham saw me and that’s when they decided to give me a visit and then I committed from there.” While most students use their summer as a time for relaxation, athletes like Dean stay committed to their craft, displaying the qualities required to become a Division I athlete.
Committing to college is a momentous decision, but Dean shared what made him feel comfortable picking Fordham. “I decided to go to Fordham because their coaches are big into development and they seem very nice. I’m excited to play for them. I’m also going to have a chance to compete and play right away. And that was a big thing for me, having a chance to contribute as a freshman.” Along with the importance of playing time, Dean also discussed the importance of the location and the potential benefits of living in the Bronx. “[Fordham] is in New York, which I like because I’m going to be an applied math major. I want to be able to have a strong backup plan after my baseball career ends and I’m hoping to work on Wall Street with my applied math major.” Whether it be the playing atmosphere or the potential benefits outside of athletics, Dean sees Fordham as the perfect place to be spending his next four years.
As per his goals for his time at Fordham, Dean shares his aspirations both academically and on the ball field. “My goal is definitely to be able to start right away and make an impact and try to bring an A-10 championship back to the Bronx. I want to develop into the best baseball player that I can be,” he said. “If I can become a pro baseball player after my senior year I’d like to do that, but if I don’t, I know I’ll have a strong backup plan with my academics.” With his time at Green Hope coming to an end, fresh beginnings at Fordham University leave Dean looking forward to what his future holds.
