Tyler Cerny’s return from illness leads to strong summer with Indiana Bulls
GREENWOOD, Ind. (BVM) — Tyler Cerny’s junior baseball season at Center Grove High School started out as any other one would. After not having a season in 2020, Cerny was anxious to get back on the diamond for the Trojans this year.
“When we got canceled, it was pretty devastating, because I thought we had the best chance to win state that year,” Cerny said. “It was pretty heartbreaking finding out that we weren’t going to be able to get back out there playing again. Going into my junior year, I was really focusing on being a leader and trying to use my knowledge to help the other kids. I thought I did that very well before the season started in spring.”
A varsity starter since his freshman year, Cerny was poised to be the star of the Trojans’ club last spring. However, things would not go as planned. Initially thought to maybe just have some kind of leg injury, the baseball star was actually dealing with much worse.
“It basically happened overnight,” Cerny explained. “The Monday of the second week of spring break we had practice. I went there, had a good practice and felt good. But I woke up the next morning and couldn’t really walk. I was able to fight through that pain that I had to play in the first three games that we had, but after that, it kept getting worse and wouldn’t go away. That’s when I realized something was wrong.”
Cerny ended up in the hospital for a week where numerous tests were conducted to determine what he had. However, the illness still remained a true mystery.
The illness certainly took its toll on the Center Grove senior. He lost nearly 20 pounds, and had to work hard to regain his strength. At the same time, watching his team play without him throughout most of the season only added to struggle.
“It was terrible just sitting there in the hospital watching my team play without me,” Cerny said. “I’d do anything to be out there with those guys.”
Slowly but surely, Cerny began recovering. By the end of the high school baseball season, Cerny was able to join the Trojans on their postseason run. However, it was not easy at first as he attempted to rebuild his strength.
“I’ve been in the weight room almost everyday,” Cerny said. “I had lost a lot of strength. The first week I was back, I picked up a bat and it was like an oar, I could barely swing it.”
Still, Cerny made his presence known, helping Center Grove to a regional final appearance. The loss there may have been tough, but it has now motivated the baseball standout and his teammates to go further next year.
“I was really happy that I was able to at least come back to a certain extent for the team,” Cerny said. “Losing that regional game was very heartbreaking, but we have a lot of returners next year to our baseball team. We should be a very good team next year. I have very high hopes for these guys and I’m really excited to get to work with them.
“It was really devastating to have to go down with an illness like I had. That really did a number on me. I know things happen for a reason and I just have to take that and use it as motivation next year when I can hopefully lead my team to a state championship.”
Although he may not quite have been 100%, Cerny continued competing in the sport he has played before he could even walk. A four-sport athlete for the majority of his life, there has always been something about baseball that sets itself apart from the rest for the 18-year-old.
“I fell in love with it, it’s the best game in the world,” he said. “My parents really gave me the idea of baseball being a fun sport that I want to play and I really adopted that and took it to heart. Now I just work real hard to achieve my goals that I’ve had since I was a little kid and I think I’ve done well accomplishing those goals and getting to where I want to be.”
The shortstop began his travel baseball career at 8 years old with the Indiana Astros. But before long, he began playing with the best players in his home state when he joined the Indiana Bulls. Cerny joined the Bulls at first as a tool to get more recruiting notice.
“It was really a business decision to get noticed by more coaches,” Cerny said. “The Bulls have been a great help.”
While that has been the case, the organization has become so much more to him over the years. This summer, Cerny was still able to play one final summer season with the Bulls, and it was a more crucial season than most with the shortstop trying to get back to his old form.
“I was really glad I was able to play summer ball with those guys,” Cerny said. “I’ve made lots of friends through the Bulls organization over the past four or five years I was with them. The first couple weeks, it was pretty rough. I was probably half the player I used to be, but I didn’t let that get to my head. I knew what I had been through, and I just had to keep my head strong and know that there was an end to that tunnel that I would reach.”
Noticeably, Cerny continued to get better and stronger with each game he played. Towards the end of the summer, he was nearly back to full health as the Bulls competed in one of their biggest events of the year, the GEICO Baseball City Series.
Cerny was a member of the Bulls’ squad that won the same tournament in 2020, and although they fell just short of the championship this year, it was still a great experience for the 18-year-old.
“Being able to play on TV at this age is always a really cool thing,” Cerny said. “The atmosphere was great and it was run by great people. Unfortunately we didn’t get the win, but it’s always fun to compete and get to play with those guys on the baseball diamond.”
In the fall, Cerny will continue his comeback as he competes with Team Indiana, facing off against some of the top high school baseball competition in the country. Since he left the hospital in spring, Cerny has strived to not just come back, but be even better than he was previously.
“That was my main goal, was trying to come back better than I was before, and I think I’m very close to achieving that goal,” he said.
Becoming even better than he already was is a scary thought for opponents, as Cerny was already a highly–touted baseball prospect who believes he will have a chance at the major leagues.
“Whenever it may be, I plan on getting drafted in the MLB,” Cerny said. “That’s been my goal since I’ve been a little kid. I’ll be very excited if that happens and I’m going to work as hard as I can to make that dream become a reality.”
Cerny playing professionally someday would cap what has been a terrific comeback story. But another step on the journey will come next year, as Cerny will begin playing college baseball for his home-state Indiana Hoosiers.
Despite plenty of interest in the baseball star from high-level schools such as Purdue, Alabama, Mississippi State and Louisville, it was Indiana that always set itself apart.
“During my freshman year, IU was the second school that called me,” Cerny said. “What set Indiana out from the others for me was the coaching staff. Coach [Jeff] Mercer is a great coach and I’ve really got to know him over the past couple of years. I’m really excited to get to play for him and I just love everything that he does over there. I’m really looking forward to next year, being able to go there and workout with those guys. My goal is to earn a spot freshman year. I know I have to work hard and that’s what I’m going to do.”
Cerny is one of many athletes who have battled adversity and come back stronger after doing so. The mysteriousness of his illness and how much it took out of him may have been concerning, but the baseball star with a bright future is ready to add to his incredible story as he inches closer and closer to 100%.
“The support I received during that whole time was unreal,” Cerny said. “It was really heartwarming to know that you have people that care about you that much. Having that really helped me get through the whole situation. I’m very close to 100% if not 100%. I’ve been feeling great in the field. I had a practice with Team Indiana the other day and I felt great in the field, my swing felt good, my power felt good. I want to say that I’m probably back to where I was before this all happened. So now, I’m just trying to keep improving and I’m not going to stop.”
