Kankakee Valley’s Declan Murr started playing baseball when he was 4 years old. It was his first love.
It was also his first heartbreak.
“I kind of just fell out of love with the game,” Murr said. “I ended up quitting for a while leading into my junior season. That spark I had for the game when I was a kid and leading up to that moment, it just went away.”
Events in his life — things entirely out of his control — pulled him away from the sport. But the relationships he built along the way brought him back, and he batted .341 with a 1.010 OPS, a team-high 14 extra-base hits and 11 stolen bases as a junior last season.
“Two of my buddies from the senior class last year told me at a basketball game, ‘Deep down, you really love this, and it’s what you enjoy doing,’” Murr said. “I came back, and I had that breakout season. The rest is history, I guess.”
Those buddies are Alex Barr, who was picked in the 12th round of the 2025 MLB draft by the Athletics, and Tyler Smolek, and they can take partial credit for this second act of Murr’s baseball career.
Murr, a 6-foot-2 senior who is batting .241 with nine stolen bases through nine games for the Kougars (5-4), has also returned to the mound this season. A crowded pitching staff and an elbow injury kept him off it last year, but he has a 2.33 ERA with 13 strikeouts in six innings.
Murr’s presence is invaluable, Kankakee Valley coach Steve Schmidt said.
“He’s one of those kids that can do just about anything,” Schmidt said. “He’s a really good defender — he’s playing center field for us this year — a plus runner, really good bat-to-ball skills. He’s that guy in our lineup we really depend on to give us a good at-bat. He always has quality trips to the plate, hits the ball hard, and we expect him to be the guy relaying information to the rest of the lineup.
“He’s one of those guys we bank on to give us a good, quality game every single night.”
Murr’s impact off the field has been important too.
“He was our leader all offseason,” Schmidt said. “Every day in the weight room, he was the one leading stretching. He was the one keeping guys accountable. He’s taken our starting first baseman (Camden Murray), a freshman, under his wing. So he’s leaving his mark.
“He’s a guy everybody on the team can turn to and a guy who always has something to offer in terms of an encouraging word. He’s just one of those kids with an infectious personality that you want to be around.”
Kankakee Valley senior pitcher Owen Uylaki has seen that for years. He and Murr have grown up together on and off the field.
“He’s a good guy who’s got great energy,” Uylaki said. “He makes the team laugh, and we always have a good time with him, and he’s a great teammate. I’ve never in my life heard him get upset or talk down to another teammate. He lifts everyone up.”
Uylaki said Murr is much different in competitive moments.
“He’s menacing” Uylaki said. “You see him at the plate, he’s a scary guy. You see him on the mound, he’s a scary guy.”
Outside of baseball, Murr likes spending time with his family, including his older brother Brannon, who also played for Kankakee Valley. He also enjoys watching movies, going out to eat and spending time with his girlfriend, Braelynn Dudzik, a Morgan Township junior who is batting .407 with a 1.022 OPS.
“We have a little bit of competition between each other,” Murr said. “I wouldn’t say we brag about who’s better, but we definitely have that competitive spirit.”
Murr prefers to stay focused on his final season.
“I know the time is coming that I’m not going to be able to play anymore,” he said. “I try not to worry about things like my stats, but deep down, I really do care, and I really care about the game. So I’m just trying to have as much fun as I can while I’m here.”
Above all else, Murr’s love for the sport has returned.
“I enjoy playing this game more than anything in my life,” he said.
Noah Poser is a freelance reporter.
