'Latin Corner': Finding a Home in the U.S. With Miami Baseball

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It's a long way from Latin America to Oxford, Ohio.

Christopher Roa Calcano, Diego Cruz and Ignacio Gonzalez should know. All three RedHawks grew up in the Caribbean (Roa Calcano in the Dominican Republic, Cruz and Gonzalez in Puerto Rico) before making their way one-by-one to the United States mainland to pursue their baseball dreams.

And while English might not be the trio's first language —and there have been plenty of other cultural adjustments to get used to along the way— Roa Calcano, Cruz and Gonzalez are thriving as student-athletes at one of America's finest 'Public Ivy' institutions.

"They might not speak English right away, or great English, but everybody speaks baseball," Miami head coach Brian Smiley said. "Doesn't matter if you're Japanese, English, Korean, Dominican, Venezuelan, Spanish, whatever: Everybody's fluent in baseball.

"That's where you can see their personality come out when they're out there [on the diamond]. In the classroom where they're still learning, that's when they might be more timid and quiet because they're unsure…

"The baseball's the easy part of coaching [international student-athletes] – it's the stuff behind the scenes, making sure they're doing their classwork and they want to go to class, and finding the ones that don't just want to play baseball only." Latin Corner baseball story

In all three cases with these particular RedHawks, Smiley and his staff hit a home run (pun intended).

Gonzalez, who moved to Florida to live with his grandmother in high school to improve his chances of catching on with a college baseball program upon graduation and is the most comfortable with the English language, is majoring in Biology/Premedical & Pre-Health Studies at Miami and looking forward to following in his mother's footsteps as a dentist someday.

"I've been in her office a few times, and I really like how patients go in there all upset and disappointed that they don't look the way they want to, but then my mom helps them out. Seeing them go out of the office with a huge smile and being very grateful for what my mom did, that's a great feeling," the redshirt freshman infielder explained. After missing almost all of the 2025 season due to injury, Gonzalez has made nine starts so far this season for the RedHawks, with four extra-base hits: three doubles and one homer.

Cruz, who is in his first year with the Red and White, is studying Kinesiology with the goal of opening his own clinic in Puerto Rico in the future. "I want to help other athletes," Cruz said. "We have physical therapies to help the athlete, but we don't have someone [at home] who knows the movement of the body, the right diet, and help the athlete improve themselves." Like Gonzalez, he moved to the U.S. as a high schooler to set himself up for college, although he had exposure to English earlier in life. Cruz would practice the language at home with his younger sister, and readily admitted he gleaned plenty of vocabulary from English-speaking entertainment like the cartoon Tom and Jerry ('even though they don't talk a lot!'), the TV sitcom Friends and the movie Cars.

He's hit the ground running in his freshman season (literally), with eight steals in nine starts at second base to go along with an impressive .375 batting average and six RBI.

Latin Corner story

"Just to have the opportunity to play Division I baseball was my dream…and when Coach Smiley gave me the opportunity and I saw the campus, the facilities, the people, and everything, I just fell in love," Cruz added.

(Cruz and Gonzalez had actually competed against each other as teenagers in their homeland but didn't become close friends until joining the RedHawks. "We played against each other all the time, and I really didn't like him or their team," Gonzalez laughed. "They had our number, and I'm very competitive. But as soon as he got here and we started hanging out, being [around each other] every day at practice, I got to know the other side of Diego. I love that kid!")

Like his teammates from a neighboring island, Roa Calcano, a 22-year-old that had never been to the United States before joining the RedHawks last season, also has a special motivation for his post-baseball vocation of choice. "I want to be a coach, because I want to help guys like Smiley helped me," the Sport Management major said thoughtfully. "He gave me the chance to come here, and I want to do the same with [other] Dominican guys: Give them a hand to come here and play in the USA, because it's a beautiful opportunity."

His rookie year with the RedHawks was promising, as Roa Calcano posted a .286 batting average (including a triple) with 11 RBIs and a .905 fielding percentage.

But getting there wasn't easy.

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While Gonzalez and Cruz already had at least some background with speaking and understanding English before they arrived in southwest Ohio, Roa Calcano had an especially steep learning curve in front of him. Coming from an inner-city area in Santo Domingo without many conveniences most Americans take for granted (everything from air conditioning to running water to flooring), Roa Calcano didn't even know how to use a calculator when he arrived on campus in the fall of 2024, and he needed to rely on Google Translate to begin his studies and interact with his Miami tutors.

"I had never prepared to come to the USA. In the Dominican Republic, we play baseball to try and get signed from age 12 to 16," Roa Calcano explained. "Nobody's learning English or studying English or anything like that… Christopher Roa Calcano

"When Coach Smiley gave me this opportunity, I came here with nothing [as far as] English, but these guys —my teammates—help me all the time. This was never my plan, but I can say I'm really comfortable here and I love it here. [Since] the first time I came, everyone has been trying to help me and do whatever I needed."

Emily Bruns, a Senior Individualized Learning Specialist and Academic Coordinator with Miami Athletics, was a crucial key to Roa Calcano's onboarding process, along with a member of her staff at the time who spoke fluent Spanish. Roa Calcano visited their offices every day as part of a plan to acclimate to the educational side of the university before even getting involved on the field with the baseball team. "I had to make sure Christopher understood all of that," Smiley said. "I'm bringing you over here, but you're not going to see the field for a month or two. You're going to be studying: Do you understand?"

Over the next year, progress in the language and the classroom was extremely slow but also very real.

"When Christopher came here, he had very limited English and no exposure to the United States. Everything was a first to him," Bruns recalled. "He would type in what he wanted to say, then Google would translate; I would read it and then type back to him…

"The English department had it set up so he had to take several introductory courses…it's the foundational things that our [schools] in the U.S. would teach."

Bruns relied on her elementary education background to help Roa Calcano begin to learn to read, write, and even form basic letters. "He's very intellectually capable," she continued. "It was just the language barrier…

"At the heart of it, Coach Smiley and [sport administrator] Darrell Hallberg wanted to make sure that Christopher was nurtured in this journey and that he felt comfortable, and I think we accomplished that," Bruns said.

'Latin Corner' story

"He has grown tremendously."

Athletically and academically, Smiley took an active role in every part of the process of getting Roa Calcano from his native country to the RedHawks' roster, a journey that had more than its share of ups and downs. (Most notably, Roa Calcano's first visa application was denied at the Dominican embassy, which meant it was several weeks into the fall semester before Miami's persistence –and Hall of Fame alum Don Crain's networking– helped secure a belated approval to make the entire venture possible.) Smiley even kept Roa Calcano at his house over the holiday break after the rookie's first semester on campus. "He spent Christmas with my family and opened up presents with us," the third-year coach said. And then last summer, he traveled to Santo Domingo to meet Roa Calcano's family in person.

"I had not met his mother, and I was virtually responsible for her son while he was over here," Smiley said. "I just felt a responsibility to go meet her, because she's entrusting her son's wellbeing in my hands. I'm the one that went down and got him and brought him here."

Smiley was far from the only Miamian involved in Roa Calcano's journey. Other staff members like Aaron Bixler (Senior Associate Director for International Enrollment) and Carol Olausen (Director of American Culture and English) were instrumental in helping Roa Calcano get admitted to the university and then be positioned for success. And assistant coach Miguel Rivera also had a significant impact as a Spanish speaker himself.

So why did Smiley believe deep down that Roa Calcano could overcome the odds stacked against him and become a productive Miami student-athlete? What led the coach to take a chance on this particular overage prospect from 1,700 miles away?

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The answer to that question involves a previous recruiting trip to the Dominican Republic.

Smiley had already watched Roa Calcano play in person on this particular scouting visit, but on the coach's last day in the country before heading north, Roa Calcano went out of his way to come track Smiley down again. Diego Cruz and Christopher Roa Calcano

"Chris took a bus to meet me because he knew I was going to be at this mall eating lunch," Smiley recounted. "He had to walk to the bus stop by himself, then take the public transportation; when he got there, he just wanted to tell me thank you for coming to his country and seeing him.

"The human being in me [thought], 'Man, I've got to bet on this kid.

"He's a good player. I know he doesn't know English…but I've got to take a chance on him. Anybody that wants out so bad –just wants an opportunity, just wants to go to college—it was just a gut [feeling]."

Since that day?

"Everything we needed him to do, he did it," Smiley shrugged. "With each box checked, it didn't take long to figure out, 'Okay, this kid's the real deal.'

"He's just a mature young man that wants to go to class and better his life."

As Roa Calcano has grown more comfortable in his surroundings at Miami over the past couple of years, he's also become more of a leader, taking his younger teammates under his wing. "We literally have a corner in the locker room: It's the Latin Corner," Cruz laughed. Since then, several other teammates have become honorary members of that section of the clubhouse, including Keenan Proctor, Kyle Kesel and Hayden Christiansen. "They're learning fast," Gonzalez chimed in with a grin.

Still, the three international students share a special and unique bond based on their common roots.

Latin Corner story

When Gonzalez got hurt last year, Roa Calcano helped encourage him based on his experience with a friend back home who had also battled back from injury. "I know it's hard being out of practice and sometimes you're feeling alone," said Roa Calcano. "We got more close with that.

"Then Diego came this year, and the three of us started hanging out all the time. I'm trying to do whatever I can with these guys, because they are younger than me and have a lot of opportunity. I want the best for both of them."

"Roa is like my big brother here," Cruz said. "In the first semester, he helped me with everything…that friendship and family bonding, I love it…

"He could have moved to an apartment this year, but he said no – just to stay with me in the hall. He stayed because of me, to help me!"

Cruz and Roa Calcano often go together to meet with Bruns about their studies, a system that has worked well for everyone. "They can kind of feed off each other," Bruns said. "They have the drive…Diego is just following right in Christopher's footsteps. He's doing his work; he doesn't complain.

"Of all students that should have something to complain about, Christopher could be complaining. It's hard! It's hard for him.

"I've never heard the boy complain."

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While leaving their hometowns and families behind to come to America, get an education and play baseball has certainly not been easy ("It's hard, but we can do it," Cruz nodded), the on-field results so far have been something that the RedHawks will remember forever.

Last year's squad won the MAC Championship, swept through the MAC Tournament, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 20 years. "Probably the best feeling I've ever had, and I didn't even contribute!", Gonzalez said of winning the MAC tourney title and lifting a trophy. "Seeing that the work paid off? That's just unbelievable."

Latin Corner story

"And when we played the first game in the regional, that was an amazing moment," Roa Calcano chimed in. "It was beautiful."

Now, as the RedHawks open the home portion of their 2026 schedule this weekend against Eastern Michigan, their focus is set on not only matching last year's exploits, but exceeding them.

During the offseason, Smiley continued his motivational trend of handing out T-shirts to his players with reminders of where the team can improve. "We had a 1* [shirt], since we were technically co-champions and we need to get rid of that asterisk," he pointed out. "Another shirt said 0-2, because we were 0-2 in our regional. And then there's a 0-P4 because we have not beaten a Power Four team."

At 8-4 in the young season heading into MAC play, he believes he has a roster that can live up to the expectations of a defending champion ballclub.

"I think we have a chance to be good: I really do," said Smiley. "I like our pitching; I like our pieces. We're by far the deepest we've been in the three years I've been here." (Instant editorial analysis: That seems downright scary for the rest of the conference!)

As one of the newest RedHawks, Cruz is looking forward to contributing to Miami's quest for a repeat (including getting to play his first real game at McKie Field any day now), but even an offseason scrimmage wearing the Red and White was meaningful enough to be something the newcomer will never forget.

"The first game in the fall, my body was shaking in the first at-bat. I was so nervous, I didn't see the ball: I just [watched] three balls cross the middle of the plate," he smiled.

"But being at a Division I school was my dream since I was 15 years old, so playing one game on that field – that was amazing.

"It's a movie. It's a dream."

As the weather warms up this spring and Miami fans come out to the ballpark to check out the 2026 RedHawks, there will be plenty of talented student-athletes to cheer for and no shortage of highlight-reel plays to applaud. Still, knowing their collective backstories, it's more than fair to take an extra second or two and appreciate the efforts of the men wearing jerseys No. 2 (Cruz), No. 3 (Roa Calcano) and No. 21 (Gonzalez), as they strive to excel both in their sport and in their academic pursuits.

Diego Cruz and Christopher Roa Calcano

After all, in a place and program that prides itself on Graduating Champions, there's something very special about watching dreams come true.

"From where I sit and being an employee of Miami Athletics, it makes me proud to know that we can embrace these situations and have the resources to do that," Bruns said as she reflected on how far Roa Calcano in particular has come since day one in Oxford. "[It's about] being willing to give someone a chance and make a difference…not just as an athletic department, but Miami University in itself…

"We get him through college, and we are changing his life from where he came from.

"And that's phenomenal."

Find more Front Row Features at: MiamiRedHawks.com/FrontRowFeatures

Miami Baseball hosts Eastern Michigan for a three-game series this weekend to begin Mid-American Conference play. Game times are set for 3 p.m. on Friday, March 6 with first pitch at 1 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday; check back to MiamiRedHawks.com for any potential schedule updates.

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'Latin Corner': Finding a Home in the U.S. With Miami Baseball

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