College Achievers: Provenzano earns national American Legion award
Carthage College sophomore Dylan Provenzano (Barrington High School) was honored as 2023 Legion Baseball All-Academic Team Captain, an inaugural award, at the American Legion’s 105th National Convention in New Orleans.
A 19-year-old first baseman, Provenzano spoke at the convention held Aug. 23-29, attending with his mother, Samantha, or Sam. Dylan Provenzano joined five national “Champions of American Legion” youth program honorees.
Representing Barrington Post 158 and Cmdr. Fred Schaffer, a World War II veteran, Provenzano was hailed for athletics, academics and community service — in his case, against tough odds.
Provenzano played at Barrington his junior and senior years after moving from Park Ridge and Maine South. In 2023 he helped Post 158 win a state title in his last year of legion ball.
Provenzano is the comeback player of the year. Any year. Twice he has beaten Ewing sarcoma, a cancer of the bone and soft tissue around it.
At 12 while attending Emerson Middle School in Park Ridge he was diagnosed with the cancer in his left fibula. At 16 it returned in his chest.
Treated by surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, Provenzano has been free of cancer the last three years. He’s monitored in biannual checkups.
“I feel the greatest I’ve ever been, actually, the healthiest I’ve ever been, the most physically fit,” he said last Wednesday.
There were seasons baseball was secondary to treatment and recovery.
“I really couldn’t (play) at that point, but I tried my best,” he said. “I would cover up my (chemotherapy) port so it wouldn’t get damaged at all, and I would practice my fielding and hitting with my dad (Adam), and I made some games for Maine South when I was a sophomore.”
Upon the first sarcoma diagnosis Dylan Provenzano spent nearly nine months at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
After the relapse he had lung surgery, radiation and chemotherapy that had him back at Lurie up to five days a week.
He said he’s put in thousands of service hours conducting donation drives for the hospital and serving on Lurie’s patient advisory board, in which staff seeks opinions on things such as hospital operations, food and hospital appearance.
Applying through Post 158 for a college scholarship, Provenzano more than satisfied the American Legion national committee’s service requirement, as did his 4.0 high school grade-point average.
In New Orleans he delivered two speeches, and remarkably felt less nervous in his second address before about 10,000 people, he said.
On Aug. 29, Provenzano left for Carthage to start fall baseball under coach Augie Schmidt IV. Provenzano is impressed by Schmidt’s mental approach to the game, which stresses the proverbial “short memory” when a mistake is made.
The memories Provenzano made in New Orleans will last a long time.
“I learned what the legion’s all about,” he said. “They love to give back, and I do as well.”