Douglas rips UNI for dropping baseball

Brandon Douglas could be the answer to a trivia question some day. Not that he wants to be.

It's conceivable the West Michigan Whitecaps second baseman could be the final player ever out of the University of Northern Iowa to make the major leagues.

The 23-year-old former Panther and Interstate 35 prep was an 11th-round draft pick of the Detroit Tigers last year. He came into a series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels this week with a .400 batting average.

What's not awesome, Douglas is quick to say, is that UNI is dropping baseball after this season. The school says it's a financial decision, a reaction to a horrible American economy.

Those within the UNI program, and those who used to be in it like Douglas, argue that.

“I think it's an absolute joke what has gone on," Douglas said. "There are ways around it, the school just didn't want to fight for the program. It's sad to see it come to an end. It's 103 years of baseball gone. The guys at UNI don't even care about that. They just don't even care. It's sad to see the people in those leadership positions over there not even care.”