Heritage Association Spotlight – Matt Cheney, Baseball
September 27, 2018 | Baseball, Trojan Athletic Fund, Features
La Cañada Flintridge is a good distance away from Matt Cheney's hometown of Costa Mesa, but it's the city he and his family now call home. "There's plenty of USC alumni out here and we even know a few former athletes. My kids have played [on sports teams] with the kids of former women's soccer players."
Matt's love for USC started early and he says it was always on his list of potential schools to attend. Part of that stemmed from his alumni grandfather, who received his engineering degree from the University. Another reason Cheney was eyeing USC? Their noteworthy baseball program.
Matt's love for baseball began when he started playing at four years old and he says his love for the sport was always strong. He was a standout in high school and received several accolades, including being named first team his junior and senior year. "I knew my whole life that I wanted to play baseball," and he would end up going all the way to the collegiate level.
After graduating from La Cañada high school, Coach Mike Gillespie invited Matt to walk on to the baseball team. "I had such a great time on the team. Everyone was super close because we were spending 6-8 hours with one another. I still see some of my teammates at football games and when I make it to campus." Matt says the time he spent on the team were during "a little bit of a low period, competitively speaking", but the work ethic and the commitment to excellence was always there.
Matt made the decision to cut his baseball career short after two seasons and put all of his focus into academics. He spent a lot of time at Marshall while pursuing his Business Entrepreneurship degree, but the amount of time he had available after leaving the baseball team was pretty significant. "I had so much more time on my hands!" So, he plugged away until he received his degree and enjoyed every minute of it.
Immediately following graduation, Matt landed a job at Apex, an IT staffing and solutions company that provides IT resources to a number of companies. He's still enjoying working with Apex and has seen a lot of success. Hopefully, Apex will start to see some new Trojan athletes walking through its doors soon. "We just participated in the student-athlete career fair and it was amazing. College athletes are exactly the kind of employees we're looking for in terms of their work ethic and drive. We actually just offered a position to someone we met [at the career fair]." Matt plans to continue giving back to the University by participating in similar events that support current student-athletes.
When asked what the Trojan Family means to him, Matt responds by saying he didn't truly understand what it meant until he graduated and saw how willing alums were to helping him succeed. "While I was in school, I really learned how to leverage my relationships with others and being part of the Trojan family made that even easier. USC really taught me the value of networking."
Matt has certainly had noteworthy success in his career, but what's even more admirable is his dedication to seeing others succeed in the same way. "All the Trojans I've met are hardworking and want to be the best. They're all people I can rely on. I'm where I am today because someone else helped me and that's something I find a lot of value in. I want to continue that cycle."
As far as his best memories from his time as a student-athlete, Matt says several stick out, but the overall best memory is the spirit of comradery. "You're with these people training at 5am, cheering them on, watching everyone put in their best. No matter your sport, everyone was always encouraging one another and treated one another like family. You were able to be yourself and it was enough regardless of how you competed. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life."
Matt's love for USC started early and he says it was always on his list of potential schools to attend. Part of that stemmed from his alumni grandfather, who received his engineering degree from the University. Another reason Cheney was eyeing USC? Their noteworthy baseball program.
Matt's love for baseball began when he started playing at four years old and he says his love for the sport was always strong. He was a standout in high school and received several accolades, including being named first team his junior and senior year. "I knew my whole life that I wanted to play baseball," and he would end up going all the way to the collegiate level.
After graduating from La Cañada high school, Coach Mike Gillespie invited Matt to walk on to the baseball team. "I had such a great time on the team. Everyone was super close because we were spending 6-8 hours with one another. I still see some of my teammates at football games and when I make it to campus." Matt says the time he spent on the team were during "a little bit of a low period, competitively speaking", but the work ethic and the commitment to excellence was always there.
Matt made the decision to cut his baseball career short after two seasons and put all of his focus into academics. He spent a lot of time at Marshall while pursuing his Business Entrepreneurship degree, but the amount of time he had available after leaving the baseball team was pretty significant. "I had so much more time on my hands!" So, he plugged away until he received his degree and enjoyed every minute of it.Immediately following graduation, Matt landed a job at Apex, an IT staffing and solutions company that provides IT resources to a number of companies. He's still enjoying working with Apex and has seen a lot of success. Hopefully, Apex will start to see some new Trojan athletes walking through its doors soon. "We just participated in the student-athlete career fair and it was amazing. College athletes are exactly the kind of employees we're looking for in terms of their work ethic and drive. We actually just offered a position to someone we met [at the career fair]." Matt plans to continue giving back to the University by participating in similar events that support current student-athletes.
When asked what the Trojan Family means to him, Matt responds by saying he didn't truly understand what it meant until he graduated and saw how willing alums were to helping him succeed. "While I was in school, I really learned how to leverage my relationships with others and being part of the Trojan family made that even easier. USC really taught me the value of networking."
Matt has certainly had noteworthy success in his career, but what's even more admirable is his dedication to seeing others succeed in the same way. "All the Trojans I've met are hardworking and want to be the best. They're all people I can rely on. I'm where I am today because someone else helped me and that's something I find a lot of value in. I want to continue that cycle."
As far as his best memories from his time as a student-athlete, Matt says several stick out, but the overall best memory is the spirit of comradery. "You're with these people training at 5am, cheering them on, watching everyone put in their best. No matter your sport, everyone was always encouraging one another and treated one another like family. You were able to be yourself and it was enough regardless of how you competed. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life."
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