Peoria, Ill. -- When Dan Puente looks back on his Bradley Baseball career, the word that comes to mind is transformational. Today, Puente is a coach with the Cleveland Guardians, working at the highest level of the sport, but his path to the big leagues was anything but easy.
Learning Toughness at Bradley
Puente arrived on the Hilltop with big dreams but was quickly humbled. As a freshman catcher, he hit just .190 with little offensive impact, relying on his above-average defense to stay in the lineup.
More than statistics, though, his first year tested his resilience in unimaginable ways.