TEMPE, Ariz. –The Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation and Arizona State University have teamed up to create the Cory Hahn Center Field Scholarship Endowment and will honor Hahn this Friday, March 4 before the Sun Devils’ series opener against Eastern Michigan at 6:30 p.m. at Phoenix Muni. The Devils’ March 4 game, designated as “Cory Hahn Night,” will include a special pre-game presentation, a No. 34 poster giveaway, and opportunities to provide a gift of any size to support the scholarship fund.
March 4 is a nod to Hahn’s No. 34 he wore as a Sun Devil, as well as the round the D-backs selected him in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft.
“Cory’s story is truly inspiring, and we are excited to partner with ASU to create a scholarship in his name,” D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall said. “Cory has made valuable contributions to both ASU and the D-backs, and we look forward to helping fund a quality education for future baseball stars in Cory’s honor at one of the top collegiate baseball programs in the country.”
Prior to the game, the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation will present Sun Devil Athletics with a check for $200,000 to go toward the Cory Hahn Center Field Scholarship Endowment for Sun Devil Baseball. The pregame ceremony will also feature former ASU and D-backs star Willie Bloomquist, ASU alum and current D-backs catcher Tuffy Gosewisch, D-backs President & CEO Derrick Hall and Hall of Famer and D-backs Chief Baseball Officer Tony La Russa, D-backs Vice President of Special Projects (and former ASU Director of Baseball Operations) Graham Rossini and D-backs Vice President of Corporate & Community Impact Debbie Castaldo.
“Cory embodies everything we value in an Arizona State University student-athlete – integrity, passion, character, a relentless drive, and service-minded,” Vice President for University Athletics Ray Anderson said. “He is truly a ‘Sun Devil for Life’ and the Cory Hahn Center Field Scholarship Endowment offers us an incredible opportunity to share his story with future generations of Sun Devils.”
The Cory Hahn Center Field Scholarship Endowment was created to honor and preserve the legacy of Cory Hahn and provides athletic scholarships for the baseball program to recruit the best and brightest student-athletes to Arizona State University. The Sun Devil Club’s goal for the Cory Hahn Center Field Scholarship Endowment is $700,000, and the Arizona Diamondbacks Foundation has jumpstarted the funding by committing $200,000 toward the $350,000 needed to establish the scholarship. ASU will then match those funds to reach the full $700,000 needed for a lifetime scholarship.
“Cory is such an important person for not only our baseball program, but also our university and our community,” Sun Devil Baseball Head Coach Tracy Smith said. “His positivity, strength in the face of adversity, and his will to never give up and never slow down are all lessons we try to teach every day. He is a role model and an inspiration to all of us.”
The Legacy of #34
A highly touted high school baseball player, Hahn was paralyzed from the chest down sliding into second base against New Mexico in the first weekend of his freshman season at Arizona State in 2011. He continues to be an active member of the baseball program, first as a student coach and now as a dedicated supporter and advocate.
Hahn graduated in May of 2014 from the W.P. Carey School of Business with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business with a concentration in communication. He earned the Wilma Rudolph Student Athlete Achievement Award, given annually to student athletes who have overcome great personal, academic and/or emotional odds to achieve academic success while participating in intercollegiate athletics, the Gene Autry Courage Award, and the Pac-12 Tom Hansen Conference Medal of Honor.
The Arizona Diamondbacks drafted Hahn in the 34th round of the 2013 MLB First-Year Player Draft and two years later the team named their annual 34th-round draft selection the “Cory Hahn 34th Pick.” After graduating from ASU in 2014, the D-backs hired Hahn in the organization’s scouting department where he serves as an assistant in the Scout Ahead Development Program.
For more information or assistance on how to contribute please contact Tom Collins, Senior Director Major Gifts for the Sun Devil Club, at 480-727-7706 or tom.collins@asu.edu.
