Benet’s Quinn Rooney would be the first member of his immediate family to attend Notre Dame.
But Rooney does have two connections to the university, one of many high-profile institutions that recruited him to play baseball. One of them is his cousin Michael Mayer, a former Notre Dame tight end who plays for the Las Vegas Raiders.
“I kind of grew up watching him at Notre Dame, so I’ve always been a fan,” Rooney said. “I don’t know him too well, but I’ve been to his high school and college games, so it’s cool to see him go from a high school kid to now succeeding in the NFL.”
Rooney, a 6-foot-6, 210-pound junior pitcher/first baseman, may be destined for similar success in baseball, according to Benet co-coach Scott Lawler, a former Notre Dame assistant.
“When I coached college, I had a lot of guys that went on to professional baseball,” Lawler said. “Not to put anything on him, but he kind of fits that path. He has all the attributes of a professional player.
“It will be fun to see his progress the next two years.”
Rooney, whose older sister Lucy is a freshman swimmer at Michigan and younger sister Claire is a freshman volleyball player at Benet, consulted Lawler before committing to Notre Dame.
“He helped me a lot throughout the process,” Rooney said. “It definitely can be overwhelming at times. He’s been through it before, and he gave me some advice on Notre Dame.”
Lawler advised Rooney to stick with the schools with strong academic reputations. Rooney picked Notre Dame over Michigan, Harvard, Northwestern and Georgia Tech.
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“He said he loved Notre Dame,” Lawler said. “I’m like, ‘Well, I’m not going to fight you on that.’ It’s a great place, and I’m really happy for him. He’s a good fit there as a two-way guy too.”
Rooney, whose father, Walter, is a doctor, wanted a college that would challenge him academically and athletically.
“Notre Dame was a really good fit for me because they’re in the ACC, they’re academics are elite,” Rooney said. “Also, coming from a Catholic background, it just felt like the right fit for me.
“The coaches care about you as a player and a person, so it just felt like home.”
Rooney feels at home at first base, on the mound and at the plate. He was the youngest player for the Redwings (27-13) last season as he helped them go on a stirring run to their first state trophy.
Rooney batted .390 with two home runs and 23 RBIs. Both of his homers came during the Class 3A playoffs, including a solo shot during Benet’s 8-5 loss to St. Laurence in the state championship game.
Rooney’s pitching initially drew recruiters’ attention. But he pitched just four times last season, striking out 19 in eight innings.
“Talking to Notre Dame’s coaches, I think what really caught their eye was his pitching,” Lawler said. “But they got to see him hit a little bit more, and they’re like, ‘Oh, wow, we have a two-way guy.’
“With the roster limits in Division I today, to add somebody that can be in your bullpen or be a starting pitcher and also bat is high-value. Quinn was a high-value guy last summer.”
Rooney will be that for the Redwings this season. He will be in the starting rotation along with senior ace Lucas Kohlmeyer, a Johns Hopkins recruit.
“Metrically speaking, his fastball has got a lot of vertical ride on it,” Kohlmeyer said. “A pitch like that appears to rise to a batter, and it makes it a lot harder to hit. A 90 mile-an-hour pitch with vert is going to be the same as a fastball at 93 with flat.
“When you have that, and you have a pitch that goes down, like a curveball — if your fastball rises 20 inches and your curveball drops 20 — it’s a 40-inch movement. He’s good with that.”
Rooney concurred and expressed confidence in other areas too.
“It should be pretty deceiving for the hitters, so I think I’ll be able to use that to my advantage,” he said. “And then on the hitting side, I think I can hit balls hard to all fields and not just pull them or hit them opposite field. On defense, I hope to contribute as well.”
Lawler has no doubt Rooney will contribute in all facets.
“The most impressive thing about him is his skill set is unbelievable, but he’s a steady competitor,” Lawler said. “If it’s fourth inning and we’re up by four or five, he’s in there steady.
“We could be bases loaded and need a big hit from him, and he’s steady at that moment too. That’s why he did so well for us in the playoffs last year as a sophomore.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.