Ever since he could walk, Talen Rosborough remembers playing baseball and by the time that he was six, he was following in his older brother’s footsteps playing catcher. Two years later, he was playing Cal Ripken Baseball and realized that he had the talent to play the position.

“I found that I was naturally gifted for the position while not many kids were able to handle the position at that age,” he said. “I believe it is the hardest position on the field, but it’s a cool position to play you’re involved in every single play and you’re a leader.”

The three sport (football, basketball and baseball) Uxbridge athlete had been playing the past four seasons with the New England Roughnecks but knew that he needed more so he this year he moved over to the Nacoma Chiefs, a club team out of Ashland. Knowing that he wanted to take the next step in his career Rosborough decided to join up with Nacoma.

“I needed help in the recruiting process and I wasn’t getting that with the Roughnecks,” the catcher said. “Once I made the switch, I immediately got the help that I was looking for.”

Rosborough had always been a terrific catcher defensively, but by the time he got to the high school level he was unsure of if he’d be able to make and start for the Spartans’ varsity team. Although he found himself nervous, he knew that he really had nothing to lose, the team only had one other catcher. Rosborough was confident that he’d get a spot on the roster but was unsure if he’d be the starter.

The freshman went out and performed well during the tryouts and on opening day found that he beat out the upper classman who was also vying for the position behind the plate. 

“I found out that I was starting the first game of the season, but I don’t remember anything about that game,” he said. “I do know that I batted in the number two spot and had a good year. As a team we went to the (Division 4) round of eight and I learned a lot playing with the upperclassmen.”

Following his freshman campaign Rosborough tried to gain some muscle and put on some weight while continuing to work on his catching and consistency. While he continued to improve his game Rosborough found that he still needed to make adjustments. Once his junior season came to a close, he began working extremely hard on his hitting.

“I’ve always been a defensive player with skills, but I wanted to improve my hitting, so I swung the bat every single day leading up to this year’s season,” the senior said. “I put a lot of work in to get better and also added 25 pounds and everything seemed to pay off.”

His senior season was phenomenal – he batted .574 up from the .300’s over the past few years, with 36 hits, 3 homeruns and 4 triples. The .574 batting average led all batters in Central Mass; broke the Uxbridge record for highest batting average and even gave the Spartan catcher a nomination for Central Mass Player of the Year.

“It was my senior year I knew that I had to make it my best year ever so I worked on my offense. With the work I put in I had a feeling that I was going to improve, but I never figured that I make such a jump in my batting average,” Rosborough said. “Being nominated for CMASS Player of the Year really meant a lot to me, I was proud of what I accomplished. Not too many athletes get an opportunity like that in their careers.”

Uxbridge baseball coach Peter Rice was just as astonished as Rosborough was with the year he had.

“Over the years I’ve watched him grow and mature as a player; getting a little better each year,” the Spartans skipper said. “This year as a senior captain he was not only a leader but a coach on the field helping the other players get better. He was always a great defensive catcher who controlled the staff, blocked the plate well and had a great arm, but he had no real offense. This year you could tell he worked hard during the off season and came back bigger and stronger.”

According to Rice, Rosborough wanted to take his game to the next level and play for a Division 1 college team so he needed to improve his hitting. Having graduated from Uxbridge, Rosborough has decided to attend Worcester Academy, a prep school that will give him another year to attract college coaches.

“My ultimate goal is to play for a Division 1 school. I have had some conversations with coaches at Holy Cross and Bryant but it’s still early in the process,” the catcher said. “Worcester will allow me to have another year to play baseball and get recruited. Baseball has always been a passion of mine and since a young age my goal was to play after high school on the college level.”

During the summer the Uxbridge native will be attending the Future Games in Emerson, Georgia between Wednesday, July 23 and Saturday, July 26. It is one of the biggest scouting events for the sport and he is hoping that he comes away with some coaching connections.

After the season that Rosborough had for the Spartans Rice has no doubt that his catcher can play on the collegiate level. Rosborough is hoping that he does get the chance to show his skills with a Division 1 school.

“Once I get to college and if I get to play Division 1 baseball then I’ll want to take the next step – playing in the major leagues; a little boys dream,” he said.