It’s every athlete’s dream to play a professional sport, but rarely does this dream ever become a reality. Recently, local product and UW-Milwaukee player Cole Kraft signed with the Rockland Boulders of the Canadian-American Professional Baseball League, making him one of a select few that can say they’ve made the jump from the Chippewa Valley to the world of compensated athletics. The Menomonie graduate played his first game of the summer on June 3, and has already found a spot as the team’s day-to-day second baseman. In his first summer he has hit the team’s first-ever in-the-park home run, and after his first 12 games, he ranks fourth on the team with a .300 batting average. Kraft is still looking to move up in the system, and dreams of playing major league ball someday. But for right now, he’s certainly on the right path.