About Us
Executive Summary
Keronn was born, raised and still resides on the south side of Chicago. He graduated from De La Salle Institute in 1996 and was an All-American Football player and and a major league prospect as a high schooler.
He chose to attend Bluefield College in West Virginia and pursue his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. This dream became a reality in 1999 when he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals after his junior year of college.
Keronn went on to play 6 years of professional baseball as a switch-hitting catcher.
After his playing career he decided to do some- thing about the decline of inner-city participation in the sport of baseball.
B.I.G. Baseball Academy was founded with not just the intent of keeping baseball alive in the city of Chicago, but more importantly, to teach life lessons that carry over into adolescent's everyday lives.
Keronn took a job coaching varsity baseball at The University of Chicago Laboratory School in 2007. With several members of that community, Keronn formed an advisory board of directors who helped raise $100,000 in private funding to open up Chicago's first indoor baseball facility on Chicago's south side.
The opening of the academy was featured on NBC Chicago Channel 5, Fox TV Channel 32, ABC Chicago Channel 7 and The Chicago Sun-Times. World Series Champion from The Houston Astros and Chicago area native Lucas Gregerson, Former MLB All-Stars and Chicago natives Curtis Granderson and Jason Kipnis, and former Chicago White Sox Gordon Beckham have visited the academy and spoke with the kids.
Over 3,000 young athletes, both boys and girls have participated in the academy since it's incorporation. The academy has held clinics and camps year round and hosted a high school and collegiate summer wood bat league. Over 500 players from the academy are participating in baseball at the high school and collegiate level. 10 players were fortunate enough to sign professional baseball contracts.
More importantly, all of the young men and women from the academy are better citizens and have learned skills on the field that have carried over in how they live their life off of the field.
The academy recently moved into a bigger, 10,000 square foot facility that will accommodate more players and local teams. Keronn has been rewarded for his work by receiving the President's Award from The Pitch and Hit Club, serving as a youth instructor for Major League Baseball's Breakthrough Series Camps and he was recently hired as an area scout for The World Champion Chicago Cubs.
Thank you for your interest in supporting B.I.G. Baseball Academy and helping us change lives through our national pastime.
B.I.G. Baseball Academy has offered baseball programming in Chicago for 8 years and have coached thousands of players of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Our focus is to give kids quality instruction in baseball and life. Through the great game of baseball, our coaching staff learned lessons about hard work and responsibility which ar
B.I.G. Baseball Academy has offered baseball programming in Chicago for 8 years and have coached thousands of players of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. Our focus is to give kids quality instruction in baseball and life. Through the great game of baseball, our coaching staff learned lessons about hard work and responsibility which are passed on each time they coach.
Over the past 8 years we have gone to numerous parks, gyms, and other facilities to provide baseball instruction to those who want to learn. Along with running programming from our own sites, which allows us to reach a wider range of people, we have been able to offer free programming over the years and scholarship over half of our participants. We enjoy the ability to allow players of all backgrounds to participate in our programming. Quality programming for kids is not something that should be exclusive. It is for this reason we offer financial assistance and scholarships to those in need. Through generous donations we are able to fund free programming and give all kids the opportunity to learn and grow through the game of baseball.
The B.I.G Baseball Academy has been calling 4425 South Western Boulevard our home since the fall of 2017.
We boast 10,000 square feet of turf area, 8 retractable batting cages, 2 pitching machines, 1 softball machine. Each cage can be equiped with the following: Protective L-Screens, batting tees, pitching mounds, and we also supply baseball/softballs, helmets and aluminum bats in every cage.
Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Saturdays and Sundays we are open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
We offer individual, group, and team lessons. Instructors are available on hand daily providing instruction on hitting, pitching, catching, infield defense, and outfield defense. All of our instructors have play
Our hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 4:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Saturdays and Sundays we are open 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
We offer individual, group, and team lessons. Instructors are available on hand daily providing instruction on hitting, pitching, catching, infield defense, and outfield defense. All of our instructors have played Collegiately, with some instructors playing professionally. Our founder and BIG Academy Director Keronn Walker also serves as a Professional Scout for the Chicago Cubs.