Feature by Penn State Harrisburg's Kendis Butler
MIDDLETOWN, Pa. - There's an old saying that you don't need to be blood to be family. You'd be hard pressed to find a pair of student-athletes that embody that idea more than Penn State Harrisburg men's basketball players Donyae Baylor-Carroll and Pedro Rodriguez.
Classmates and teammates since middle school at nearby Milton Hershey, the duo lived together, played together, and eventually excelled together, cementing their friendship that began before they even reached their teenage years.
They've been a package deal since high school, sparking the Spartans memorable state championship tournament run in 2018 that included a district title. They helped lead Penn State Harrisburg's men's basketball program to new heights the past two seasons. Most impressively, however, they'll cross the stage at the GIANT Center on Saturday morning as a pair of Penn State graduates.
The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship
Donyae Baylor-Carroll enrolled at The Milton Hershey School as a kindergartner. By the time Pedro Rodriguez started at MHS as a sixth grader and had his first experience with Baylor-Carroll playing basketball in gym class, it was evident to the latter that his peer was talented beyond his years. Baylor-Carroll's initial impression of Rodriguez was that he was "just like one of those big kids that made jokes all the time." A year later, Baylor-Carroll was transferred to Rodriguez's student home, kickstarting a relationship that blossomed into a rare friendship over the course of the next decade.
The connection between the two was a natural one and as it is wont to do, sports played a role in its cultivation. When describing each other's traits, the young men echoed a similar sentiment, using the same word - genuine.
"Our relationship grew because the stuff I got from him was genuine," explained Baylor-Carroll regarding the growth between him and Rodriguez. "He would just come out and play basketball with me and so basketball definitely helped form our relationship."
When it comes to meeting new people, Rodriguez mentioned that he's always been an outgoing person and that he likes to get to know people by learning their backgrounds. The same held true when encountering Baylor-Carroll.
"When he came to my student home, I knew he was good at basketball," said Rodriguez. "But everybody knew that. So when I would talk to him, I realized that he comes from humble backgrounds … similar background as me. Everything was genuine with him."
While their situations are similar, anyone who knows them can tell that Baylor-Carroll and Rodriguez have much different personalities. The former is level-headed, calm, soft-spoken. The latter is much more of an extrovert, outgoing. You'd be surprised not to see him sporting a broad smile. It's those differences, however, that have created a lasting balance and chemistry between the two.
"Pedro has always been the outgoing person and that's why I've always told him that he's going to be successful," said Baylor-Carroll. "Because everyone attracts to him. He can stand out in a room of a hundred people … For me, I've always gotten attention through a lot of my actions."
The Next Step: Milton Hershey to Penn State Harrisburg
In grade school, Donyae Baylor-Carroll was the kid you'd find outside shooting hoops day after day, doing everything possible to perfect his craft. That dedication continued into middle school and eventually paid off massively in high school, at a time when expectations for Milton Hershey's boys' basketball program weren't all that high.
Pedro Rodriguez, on the other hand, didn't start playing basketball until he got to Milton Hershey. But once he committed to the game, he was quickly influenced by Baylor-Carroll's work ethic and determination to be the best.
"He's the best person I've ever played with and arguably the best person on the court when he steps out there," said Rodriguez about Baylor-Carroll. "And that just makes me want to up my game too and work harder."
Rodriguez claims he didn't see success as a basketball player until his senior year of high school when he earned a starting spot on the team. Baylor-Carroll and Rodriguez helped lead Milton Hershey to a district title and a trip to the final four of the state championship tournament during their final season with the Spartans.
Baylor-Carroll amassed 1,632 points during his high school career; the most in program history. He was a first-team all-state selection in 2018, while Rodriguez earned Mid-Penn All-Star status as a senior as well. The pair not only made a name for themselves with their illustrious performances, but for Milton Hershey as well.
Following graduation from MHS, Penn State Harrisburg proved the best choice for both young men. For Baylor-Carroll, the prospect of going Division I, where life revolved around and school and basketball 24/7, wasn't what he envisioned. Still, after such a stellar end to his high school career, some questioned the decision to attend a Division III institution, rather than a larger school. As he explains it, however, the choice was a no-brainer.
"There's always that talk but I would do it over again a hundred times," Baylor-Carroll admitted. "Just the impact, that's the stuff you're always going to remember."
The proximity to Milton Hershey was also a driving force for the duo. Rodriguez elaborated, explaining that the opportunity to stay close to home and have familiar faces in the stands night in and night out at the Capital Union Building factored into the decision. He admitted that he wasn't getting many college offers but when coaches reached out to Baylor-Carroll, they would ask about his "buddy." All he did was use it as fuel to become one of the most effective sixth men in the region.
"It was definitely like a pride thing to our family at Milton Hershey, just the dynamic is like a family," he said. "And to go to a Penn State Harrisburg family, but the families are so close together."
Making History at Penn State Harrisburg
The hard work produced results and when the success began to follow, Donyae Baylor-Carroll and Pedro Rodriguez took opposite approaches to the game of basketball. Baylor-Carroll held a "that's what I expected" outlook, while Rodriguez kept that underdog mentality that served him so well. Their attitudes differed, but again, it was that dichotomy that ultimately fueled the greatest success.
When the two arrived at Penn State Harrisburg as freshmen, they walked into a locker room full of upperclassmen. It took some time to adjust to new roles but once Baylor-Carroll and Rodriguez began to play with their fellow rookies, whether on game day or in practice, there was a realization that this group could be special.
"We didn't know how good we were going to be," said Rodriguez. "But we knew we had something between us four or five guys and it ended up showing sophomore year."
Entering the 2019-20 season, Penn State Harrisburg was an unknown to the rest of the country. Young, unproven, replacing three starters, and coming off a .500 season, all the Lions did that year was break the program record for wins, clinch the program's first conference championship, and earn its first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In the big dance, the Blue & White secured a thrilling double-overtime victory over No. 6 Johns Hopkins in the first round to advance to the round of 32. In the memorable win over the Blue Jays, Baylor-Carroll netted a program-record 45 points, while Rodriguez was huge in adding 17 of his own.
Then, just a week after the NCAA victory, with spirits surrounding the program as high as they had ever been, the world shut down due to COVID-19. Suddenly, a bright future for a thriving Penn State Harrisburg squad was replaced with uncertainty. All athletic activity halted, months passed, and by the time October 2020 rolled around, the fate of the Lions' season was unclear.
"It was definitely hard because we didn't know what was going on or what was going to happen," recalled Rodriguez when discussing the pandemic. "But we tried to stay engaged."
When the team eventually learned there would be no 2020-21 season, everything was up in the air. Baylor-Carroll's initial plan was to attend and play for Penn State Harrisburg just long enough to earn his associate's degree and by the time COVID hit, he had accomplished that goal. He decided to take the spring semester off and used that time to start his own business - Don's Pickup and Hauling Service.
"I came here for two years, I did what I wanted to do," explained Baylor-Carroll regarding his thought process. "I had two of the most exciting games that I ever played here with Lancaster Bible and Johns Hopkins. Whenever I started my business, there was that talk of like who was coming back and everything. I had to figure out the motivation because I was happy how it ended. But then my business was running off itself and I didn't physically have to be there."
"I was thinking that as long as I was still able to do what I wanted to do outside of school, with starting my business and having it be successful, and then mixing that with coming back with Pedro and B-Cole (Brandon Coleman) and my senior class and also the junior class that was with us," he continued. "So I'm happy with coming back, I think things went well and it was definitely a hard year but the outcome came out pretty good."
The team returned to campus in person for the 2021-22 campaign with their leader in tow and the excitement to get back on the court was palpable. Because of the success of 2019-20, the expectations were higher but according to Rodriguez, that didn't change a thing.
"I just think we knew what we did sophomore year, we knew the chemistry and the coaching was ready to go," he said. "And when we stepped on the court, we didn't care who we played, we were just ready to compete. No matter how good they looked on paper … We just knew when you get in between the lines with us, you just got to beat us"
And few teams could. For the second season in a row, the Lions proved that they were one of the best teams in the nation. For the second straight time, they broke the program record for wins, racking up 24 victories and capturing their second straight United East Conference Championship in dominant fashion. Underdogs once again, the Blue & White went on to hand a 26-win team in No. 9 St. Joseph (Conn.) just its second loss of the season in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament, advancing to the round of 32 for the second consecutive season and decisively proving that the program's success was no fluke.
As a team, Penn State Harrisburg ranked fifth in the nation in scoring margin (17.4), as well as top-20 in the country in assists per game (18.2), blocked shots per game (5.0), field-goal percentage defense (38.4), scoring defense (62.1), and steals per game (10.9).
Baylor-Carroll ended his career as the most decorated player in program history, earning a pair of preseason all-America honors and four all-region accolades, while Rodriguez cemented his status as one of the most versatile sixth men to ever wear a Penn State Harrisburg uniform. While their on-court success was evident, a final goal remained - one that involves a diploma and a seal from Penn State University.
The Send-Off
When discussing their careers and looking towards their futures, Pedro Rodriguez and Donyae Baylor-Carroll reflected on one word in particular - community.
"We had a lot of support from the community and both communities are close," said Rodriguez. "We are playing for that community and for this community. And a lot of kids are looking up to us, which is important. We are playing for a lot more than ourselves."
That support and admiration does not go unnoticed. It's what they've earned. From strangers in gym class to district champs. From housemates to conference champions. From state championship runs to NCAA Tournament victories. Donyae Baylor-Carroll and Pedro Rodriguez are Milton Hershey and Penn State Harrisburg through and through. And both of those communities are excited to see them achieve great things together one more this weekend.
"It's been a lot of fun. I made a lot of memories, made a lot of friends. But guys like me and (Donyae) who went to Milton Hershey, we've gone through a lot of periods in our life where going to Milton Hershey was one step, graduating Milton Hershey was another step, going to college was big for us. I don't have a lot of people in my family who went to college. I don't think he does either. Just going to college, doing a lot of things for basketball and now getting ready to graduate college … it's just that next step. And I think we have done well in adjusting in our steps and leaving our mark in everything that we do. It's just exciting to see what's going to come next. Although we have that extra year and stuff, I just think that certain things come to an end for a reason. We left our mark and I'm happy with how things turned out and he's happy how things turned out. And we had a lot of support from the community and both communities are close - Milton Hershey and Penn State Harrisburg. We know that they have our back and we're excited to have their back and we are still going to represent them even though we're graduated and 'moved on.'"
"I think the impact will go on past its years and what I'm most proud of is definitely the people that are graduating. They all have something set in place. Basketball brought us together and showed us hard work and I don't think any job will take as much from us as basketball. I think we are going to blossom even more outside of basketball. I really believe that the seniors that are graduating are going to be somewhere in like five years and I can reach out and see how they're doing. I'm more excited about the next step. I'm happy with how things are going. And I think we did a good job preparing ourselves. We got a lot more to come."
Baylor-Carroll and Rodriguez will take that next step on Saturday morning when they graduate as part of the Penn State University Class of 2022. It is the final goal they'll achieve together while wearing the Blue & White. And when they walk across that stage, they'll do it for their communities. For Penn State Harrisburg. For the men's basketball program. For Milton Hershey.
And most importantly, for each other. Proving one more time that you don't have to be blood to be family.
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