2024 - Meet Ty Sierpien

Elgin Community College student-athlete Ty Sierpien’s last semester at ECC is coming to a bittersweet end this spring. The second baseman and occasional pitcher for the ECC baseball team said he’s enjoying his final season and plans to transfer to Northern Illinois University in the fall.

“As young as I could remember, I just wanted to keep playing,” Sierpien said. “I love seeing the guys out on the field. There’s a lot of laughs and memories there.

Sierpien is from Marengo, Ill., and was recruited by the ECC baseball team in the fall of 2022. This past year, Sierpien secured an Athletic Scholarship through the ECC Foundation. When he’s not studying or on the field, Sierpien spends more than 30 hours a week working at his family’s business, Santa’s Village in East Dundee.

“My parents are business owners, but they’re more like owners/operators,” Sierpien said. “They own it, but they’re always working on the ground. A hard work ethic has always been ingrained in me, and even if you’re the highest guy, you’re no better than the lowest.”

Sierpien intends to major in accounting when he transfers, with ambitions of eventually taking over his family business or starting his own. Entrepreneurship comes naturally to Sierpien because of his parents. By majoring in accounting, Sierpien is determined to follow in their footsteps and become his own boss.

Finishing his baseball career this spring will be difficult for this second baseman because he’s been playing his whole life, but the time and memories he spent on the athletic fields and his exciting path forward make hanging the glove up a little easier. Learn more about Sierpien, and be sure to catch him out on the field this spring!

What did you want to be when you were growing up? That always changed. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a bull rider. It’s like that gritty sense my parents instilled in me; that’s where that came from. In middle school, I wanted to be an MLB player. Then, I wanted to be an engineer for a minute. Business was my final decision in my freshman year of high school. I want to be on that side of accounting.

What’s on your playlist/podcast list? I listen to a lot of “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “Two Bears One Cave,” which is a comedy podcast with two of my favorite comedians. I listen to a lot of Zack Bryan and country music.

Dogs, cats, or houseplants? Dogs, for sure. Big dogs, I don’t care for little dogs unless it’s a wiener dog. I like Huskies, German Shepherds, and Golden Retrievers. I have a Rottweiler named Brizzo, after Bryant and Rizzo, who played for the Chicago Cubs a couple of years ago. And then my sister has a Pit Bull that does nothing but sleep all day.

What’s your favorite spot on campus? The library. I probably go there three or four times a week to complete my homework. I’ll bring some of my teammates there, and we’ll go and get a study room. It’s nice and new and you don’t feel cramped. The library is an open space; once I’m in a good spot, I can focus there. If I’m at home, I just want to play video games or eat and not get my stuff done.

Shout out an ECC staff member or peer! I’ll shout out Professor Packard, my managerial accounting teacher. It’s a very tough class, but if you care about the class, it’s actually really fun. He’s a cool dude.