The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2022 INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS U-M SOFTBALL PLAYER DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER, GOFUNDME ESTABLISHED U-M junior infielder Kay- lee America Rodriguez an- nounced in September a can- cer diagnosis stemming from an MRI result received on Sept. 7. Rodriguez said in a social media post that she has been dealing with hip pain, and a pair of cancerous tumors were discovered in the scan. " Thank you to those who have been here the last cou- ple weeks and for making me smile," she said on Instagram. A GoFundMe fundraising campaign was created on Sept. 13 to help support Ro- driguez during her treatment. "Kaylee has impacted many by being the first girl on Team Panama 12U, four-time All-Miami Dade County first team, a six-time district champion in softball and 2-time district champion in soccer," the campaign's page read. "In other words, a total beast. She succeeds in everything she does due to how [dedicated] and driven she is. Kaylee excelled and pushed hard, which granted her the opportunity to attend the University of Michigan. "Kaylee has impacted the softball world but has left an even greater impact on the people around her as she is one of the best human beings I have ever come across. Kaylee has been a fantastic daughter and sister to her brothers Kassem and Keanu. "Last year, her brother Keanu (17) was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma and fought and beat it on October 27, 2021. On September 7, 2022, we got the results no one wants to get, especially a young collegiate athlete — an MRI depict- ing two tumors. Last year Kaylee complained of hip pain; for those who know Kaylee, pain or hurt isn't a word in her vocabulary, nothing ever hurts. The news has struck everyone impacting coaches, teammates, friends, and family due to the recency of having Keanu beat cancer." The Miami, Fla., native has been with the U-M program for two seasons, playing in 69 games as a pinch runner and infielder. The campaign was organized by friend Madeleine Peraza and had raised more than $14,500 as of Sept. 15. — Anthony Broome JOHN BEILEIN REFLECTS ON LEAVING U-M, JOINING MICHIGAN SPORTS HALL OF FAME Former men's basketball coach John Beilein made waves in spring 2019 when he shockingly left Ann Arbor to take the head coaching job with the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers. The pro experiment did not last a full season before parting ways with the Cavs. After his time in Cleveland, Beilein taught a course in U-M's School of Education before the Detroit Pistons hired him as a senior advisor. With the benefit of hindsight, he recently reflected on the decision to leave the program he helmed to a pair of Final Fours and numerous other accomplishments. "I was really contemplating retirement," Beilein told The De- troit News. "I'm the only guy contemplating retirement, then deciding for a harder job, going to the NBA. ... At West Virginia, we were rocking and rolling and now you go and try and turn around a Michigan program that was long dormant. I saw this as the same thing. People were telling me not to do it; that's exactly why I'm going do it. "Leaving, I felt really good about it because of what we had accomplished, especially in that last decade." Beilein was inducted into the Mich- igan Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 10 with four other Wolverines: soft- ball legend Jennie Ritter, basketball star Chris Webber and figure skat- ers Meryl Davis and Charlie White. He might be a New York native, but the Mitten State is now his home for good. "You look at Michigan and its his- tory and all the great athletes that have come out of this state; it's amaz- ing," Beilein said. "For a Western New Yorker to come here for 12 years and now be going in the Hall of Fame, I'm very proud to be in that group. I wasn't born and raised here, but this is our home now." Beilein went 278-150 in 12 sea- sons on the job, winning at least one NCAA Tournament game in eight of nine appearances with four trips to the Sweet 16 and two Final Fours. — Anthony Broome MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK Five U-M luminaries were inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 10 (left to right): Jennie Ritter (softball), John Beilein (men's basketball coach), Chris Webber (basketball), Meryl Davis and Charlie White (figure skating). COURTESY MICHIGAN ATHLETICS KAYLEE AMERICA RODRIGUEZ