Bats’ Kaleb Meredith Honored with National Turf Scholarship

In a banquet hall in Fort Worth, Texas with some of the most experienced sports field managers in the country, Kaleb Meredith was likely the youngest person in attendance.

By the end of the night on January 22, the 17-year-old was walking across the stage to accept a national scholarship, one earned through a year of long days at Louisville Slugger Field.

Meredith was named the recipient of the Dr. Fred Grau Memorial Scholarship, a $3,000 award presented annually to a student pursuing a career in sports field management. Surrounded by nearly a thousand industry professionals, he quickly understood the magnitude of the moment.

“I was definitely the youngest one there,” Meredith said. “Not many teenagers get to go to this conference. It was mainly older managers and higher-up positions.”

Meredith recently finished his first season working on the Louisville Bats’ grounds crew, often arriving at the ballpark at 8 a.m. and working until around 11 p.m. on most game days. For his boss, Bats Director of Field Operations Tod Shafer, the recognition came as no surprise.

“Right off the bat, he is a tremendous employee,” Shafer said. “He can’t sit still. He works his tail off. He does everything that we ask him to do.”

Meredith first joined the Bats after starting his groundskeeping journey on the soccer side of town before switching to baseball and becoming an integral part of maintaining the playing surface at Louisville Slugger Field.

His favorite responsibilities include mowing the infield and setting up for batting practice. Even the most meticulous duties, like edging the infield grass, are a part of the process he has embraced.

“There are some long and tedious tasks and long days,” Meredith said. “But it all pays off in the end.”

Despite being decades younger than many of his coworkers, Meredith, who will be graduating from Bullitt Central High School this spring, was quick to learn the tools of the trade.

“It can be very intimidating walking in when everyone is 20 years older than you,” he said. “But every single person I worked with this year was always willing to help out.”

Shafer, who has hired and trained many grounds employees during his 14 years with the Bat, including the past five as the department’s director, remembers that Meredith’s maturity and commitment stood out immediately, despite his age.

“There’s not enough kids like him right now,” Shafer said of Meredith. “Finding him was like finding a needle in a haystack. I couldn’t be more proud of him.”

Meredith intends to use the money from the scholarship to help with his first college semester. This fall, he’ll begin his studies online, attending the Penn State World Campus to pursue a turf degree, with aspirations of making it in that field, literally.

“It’s going to help financially,” Meredith said. “But I feel like it’s more of a pride thing as well.”