{"id":733888,"date":"2026-06-24T00:33:33","date_gmt":"2026-06-24T00:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/733888\/"},"modified":"2026-06-24T00:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-24T00:33:33","slug":"superior-native-mlb-veteran-kris-benson-hosts-local-youth-camp-superior-telegram","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/733888\/","title":{"rendered":"Superior native, MLB veteran Kris Benson hosts local youth camp – Superior Telegram"},"content":{"rendered":"

SUPERIOR \u2014 Kris Benson grabbed his glove as he ran out the front door.<\/p>\n

It was a sweltering summer afternoon in the late 1970s, and Benson, then just four or five years old, made his way across the street to the Hayes Court Complex in Superior.<\/p>\n

While crossing the road, Benson often stopped and scavenged the ditch for old baseballs he could use to practice. Most were grimy, long-forgotten balls that had been left behind after being hit foul weeks or months earlier.<\/p>\n

\u201cHayes Court is where I grew up and started playing catch,\u201d Benson said. \u201cThis is where it all started for me. Just walking down the street when I was five or six, grabbing the baseballs and bringing them home and playing catch, it all started here 45 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pitcher<\/p>\n

Former MLB pitcher Kris Benson demonstrates a drill during his clinic at Superior High School on Thursday afternoon, June 18.<\/p>\n

Jed Carlson \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

Those summers were the genesis of a legendary baseball life. Benson, who moved to the greater Atlanta area when he was six, became an elite high school baseball prospect, a dominant pitcher at Clemson and the first overall pick in the 1996 MLB draft.<\/p>\n

Benson helped the United States earn a bronze medal in the 1996 Olympic Games in his adopted hometown of Atlanta, which set the stage for his decade-long career in Major League baseball that began in April 1999 with Pittsburgh and ended in April 2010 with Arizona.<\/p>\n

\"Pitcher<\/p>\n

Former MLB pitcher, Kris Benson, left, who was born in Superior, helps Matthew Markee with his form as they work through a drill during Benson\u2019s clinic at Superior High School on Thursday afternoon, June 18.<\/p>\n

Jed Carlson \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

After retiring, Benson started a business management firm. He spent nearly every waking second working there until the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world in early 2020. It gave him time off, and that\u2019s when he began thinking about baseball again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen COVID hit, a lot of things changed,\u201d Benson said. \u201cI got back into coaching. I still have my business, but it\u2019s not as time-consuming. I was able to get back into coaching and now that I\u2019m in, it\u2019s just gotten me really sucked back into it. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Benson, who splits time between Atlanta and San Diego, still has extended family in the Superior area, and when he was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in February, he ran into an acquaintance familiar with Superior\u2019s baseball program.<\/p>\n

\"Pitcher<\/p>\n

Former MLB pitcher Kris Benson takes off his College Baseball Hall of Fame ring to pass around during his clinic at Superior High School on Thursday afternoon, June 18. Benson was inducted into the College Baseball Hall of Fame in February.<\/p>\n

Jed Carlson \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

They sparked a conversation that blossomed into a mid-June clinic in Superior for the next generation of Spartans. The first moment Benson stepped on the field at the high school was an emotional one because his journey started there.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been nostalgic,\u201d Benson said. \u201cI\u2019m excited to get back here and give back. I want to give these guys stuff I never had \u2014 here or in Atlanta. It\u2019s been a blast to come up here and catch up with family and meet some new kids and work with these guys.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Youngsters<\/p>\n

Players on the Spartan 14U travel baseball team listen to former MLB pitcher Kris Benson, who was born in Superior, as he talks during his clinic at Superior High School on Thursday afternoon, June 18.<\/p>\n

Jed Carlson \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

Benson hosted a coaching clinic Tuesday, June 16, along with two sessions for kids just 48 hours later. The first was for 14-year olds and up, while the larger session late in the afternoon was designed for 11, 12 and 13-year old Spartans.<\/p>\n

\"Kids<\/p>\n

Carter Jensen, left, and Blake Zimpel look at the Kris Benson\u2019s College Baseball Hall of Fame ring during Benson\u2019s clinic at Superior High School on Thursday afternoon, June 18.<\/p>\n

Jed Carlson \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

The MLB veteran spent three hours with the first session of just over two dozen kids detailing his experience as a professional athlete, along with the fundamentals of pitching, how to field the position, general baseball IQ and how to be a great teammate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s crazy having him here,\u201d said Superior\u2019s Landon Sundstrom, who just finished his junior campaign with the Spartans. \u201cHe\u2019s a really big role model. We\u2019re blessed to have him out here and show us what we need to do to get better.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pitcher<\/p>\n

Spartan baseball players reflect in the glasses of former MLB pitcher Kris Benson as he talks during his clinic at Superior High School on Thursday afternoon, June 18.<\/p>\n

Jed Carlson \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

The young athletes aren\u2019t the only people thrilled to have Benson working with those in the program. Superior head coach Ryan Hendry said it\u2019s not lost on him how valuable it is having a former MLB player helping develop future program stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis credentials, the pedigree he has, it\u2019s insane,\u201d Hendry said. \u201cI\u2019m like, \u2018Absolutely, please come help us.\u2019 Him telling our guys, \u2018I started here, just like you guys,\u2019 gives the kids hope that if they put everything they can into it, then anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Coach<\/p>\n

Former MLB pitcher Kris Benson, left, chats with Superior head baseball coach Ryan Hendry during Benson\u2019s clinic at Superior High School on Thursday afternoon, June 18.<\/p>\n

Jed Carlson \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

Perhaps nobody learned more at the session than the aforementioned Sundstrom. He\u2019s coming off a junior year in which he amassed a 3-2 record on the mound and a 3.00 ERA, which included 43 strikeouts in just over 32 innings of work.<\/p>\n

He said that his family has spent a significant amount of money on baseball camps and clinics in the past, but few of them held a candle to what he learned from Benson in just a couple of hours in mid-June.<\/p>\n

\u201cI learned so much mechanical stuff today,\u201d Sundstrom said. \u201cI\u2019ve been coached by a lot of people and paid a lot of money for programs, but sometimes you can\u2019t learn without having done it at the highest level like he has. He knows stuff other coaches don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pitcher<\/p>\n

Former MLB pitcher Kris Benson, right, shows Jack Granlund what to do in a drill during Benson\u2019s clinic at Superior High School on Thursday afternoon, June 18.<\/p>\n

Jed Carlson \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

Benson has put feelers out in both the collegiate and professional ranks to see if he can get on staff somewhere in some sort of pitching coach capacity. He loves helping develop talent, and that\u2019s what he did with Sundstrom in Superior.<\/p>\n

\"Pitcher<\/p>\n

Former MLB pitcher Kris Benson, left, watches for balance on Jace Husemoller as he throws the ball during Benson\u2019s clinic at Superior High School on Thursday afternoon, June 18.<\/p>\n

Jed Carlson \/ Duluth Media Group<\/p>\n

Whether he lands one of those jobs, which could be at his alma mater or another major Division I program, he plans to continue hosting his baseball camp in Superior for many summers to come because he loves giving back to the community where it all started.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to be up here more,\u201d Benson said. \u201cI love coming up and working with these guys, so I\u2019m going to try and do that more often and keep coming up here for this camp every summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Reagan<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

\n Reagan Hoverman joined the Duluth News Tribune as a sports reporter in July 2023 after spending the better part of two years covering a variety of prep and collegiate sports at the Pierce County Journal in Ellsworth, Wis. Before that, he was a news and sports reporter at the Inter-County Leader in Frederic, Wis.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SUPERIOR \u2014 Kris Benson grabbed his glove as he ran out the front door. It was a sweltering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":733889,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2276],"tags":[91391,5,26433,31184,91392,91393,91394,2291,4,1586,91395,91396],"class_list":["post-733888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb-draft","tag-anna-benson","tag-baseball","tag-college-baseball-hall-of-fame","tag-kris-benson","tag-kris-benson-clemson","tag-kris-benson-mlb","tag-landon-sundstrom","tag-major-league-baseball-draft","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-draft","tag-ryan-hendry","tag-superior-spartans-baseball"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116802277095010870","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=733888"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/733888\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/733889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=733888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=733888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=733888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}