HEARTWARMING

Chris Singleton, Whose Mother Was a Charleston Shooting Victim, Drafted by Chicago Cubs

The new Cubs outfielder lost his mother, Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, in the racially motivated mass shooting at a South Carolina church in 2015.

On Wednesday, the Chicago Cubs officially drafted outfielder Chris Singleton from Charleston, South Carolina.

As fate would have it, this joyous news comes just one day before the 2-year anniversary of Singleton’s mother’s murder.

Sharonda Coleman-Singleton was one of the nine victims brutally killed at the hands of shooter Dylann Roof in the racially-motivated attack at the Emanuel African Methodist Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on June 15, 2015.

Coleman-Singleton was a 45-year-old high school track and field coach and a preacher for the church. She left behind Chris and his two younger siblings, Camryn and Caleb.

At his mother’s funeral, Singleton, then a baseball player at Charleston Southern University, said he’d last spoken to his mother by phone while she was at Bible study. He had called to ask where she had hidden the remote control in their house. She whispered that it was in the closet, tucked away so his little brother would not play too many video games.

“If we just love the way my mom would, then the hate won’t be nearly as strong as the love is,” Singleton said at the funeral.

Two years have passed, with Singleton left to take care of his siblings. But Wednesday afternoon, there was good news: the defending World Series champions called Singleton as the 585th draft pick during the 19th round of the MLB draft.

The Cubs’ decision comes just after Singleton finished his junior season at CSU, starting in all 51 games, recording 18 steals, 38 runs scored and four home runs.

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Ashley K. Jolicoeur

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