Attend the Welcome Dinner to kickoff our Showcase weekend on Friday, March 22 on the Athletes in Action campus!
Enjoy a Lenten inspired Italian meal catered by Amber Rose Restaurant!
The Keynote Speaker is former UD Flyer, 13 Year MLB Veteran, and CAC Athlete Board Member, Craig Stammen.
Craig grew up in North Star, Ohio and was a standout three-sport athlete at Versailles High School before attending the University of Dayton.
Craig was drafted in the twelfth round in 2005 by the Washington Nationals, and made his big league debut on May 21, 2009 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig began his time in Washington in the starting rotation before moving to the bullpen, where he spent the majority of his career.
In 2017, Craig joined the San Diego Padres for the last chapter of his MLB career. In San Diego Craig became a leader of the pitching staff, and mentored many young pitchers, including Chris Paddack, Joe Musgrove, and Ryan Weathers. Craig retired in 2023, and is now working in Player Development with the San Diego Padres.
Craig grew up in a small town in Ohio where his Catholic Faith and baseball were two, separate entities in his life. Even though both were important to him, it was made clear that being Catholic came first and playing baseball second. This was and remains true, but he’s since learned that the two things can actually be incorporated together.
What he realized is that while you should work as hard as possible to be the best you can be on the field, you need to put everything in God’s hands. You do your part, and then let God determine what’s best for you. This realization helped his game significantly. It made playing in the majors possible, which he had previously thought of as being unattainable.
Craig has been involved with Catholic Athletes for Christ since he was a member of the Washington Nationals, and has served on their Athlete Advisory Board for over ten years.
“I used to play for my teammates and school, which was a good thing, but now I play for God, which is an even better thing. It’s a much broader-minded way of seeing things, and it takes a lot of the pressure off you. It opens you up to the reality that, while baseball is fun, you can’t really enjoy it to the fullest or play it to the best of your abilities without recognizing the God who made it all possible in the first place.”
On the campus of Athletes in Action's World Headquarters!
1183 Tyndale Lane, Xenia, Ohio 45385, United States
We use cookies to analyze website traffic and optimize your website experience. By accepting our use of cookies, your data will be aggregated with all other user data.