Former MHS Baseball MVP Scores Dean’s List Spot In First Semester

An image of Dante Westmiller as a Maricopa High School junior in 2023 layered with a photo of him as a freshman at University of Wisconsin Superior. [Bryan Mordt]

These freezing January mornings are outside the norm for the Sonoran Desert, but for Maricopa native Dante Westmiller, it feels heavenly.

The Cobblestone Farms resident will return to the University of Wisconsin at Superior in a few days, so he’s spending what little time he has left in the sun before heading back to the icy Midwest (Superior, Wis., is on the state’s northern coast and double-digit degrees colder than Milwaukee. Brr!).

“I’m enjoying being outside during the break because I don’t get that opportunity a bunch there. Like, once it gets to 10 degrees or lower, it’s tough,” he said. “Sometimes when it’s in the negatives and it’s really windy, I look back on my weather map and see Maricopa is like 60 degrees.”

Westmiller, an economics major, graduated from Maricopa High School last year and recently finished his first semester as a Yellowjacket with flying colors — he made the university’s dean’s list while working two part-time jobs. And while he’s humble about his accomplishments, Westmiller is just warming up.

“I’m honored to make the dean’s list, especially as a freshman,” he told InMaricopa. “I’m looking forward to continuing making good strides to get my degree.”

The freshman economics major said when he returns for the spring, he will not only be taking tougher classes but will also begin his first semester as a catcher for the college’s Division III baseball team.

In Maricopa, Westmiller stood out big time on the diamond. He played catcher for the Rams’ varsity baseball team, was named MVP his sophomore year and served as co-captain as an upperclassman.

Now, he’s ready to see where university life takes him both on and off the field.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge of balancing sports, school and a job,” he said. “I’m just loving getting to the meet the challenge ahead of just balancing everything and see how well I do at it because that’s how the real world is.”

After college, Westmiller said he wants to work in a pro team’s front office, man idea spurred by watching the movie Moneyball.

In the meantime, he said he’s focused on taking things one day at a time.

This semester, “I’ll be more in tune with my major and learning more about what I’m planning to do after college,” he said. “It’s going to be huge, but I’m also going to be busy almost every day with homework, baseball and my jobs.”

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