Kristi Rogers was in tears when watching her son Matt suffer a leg injury as his March Madness got off to a nightmare start during the game between American U and Mount St. Mary’s
Matt Rogers’ mom, Kristi, was in tears after he was carried off the court with an injury (
Image: CBS Sports)
American University center Matt Rogers was carried off the court during Wednesday’s First Four game against Mount St. Mary’s, and his mom Kristi was in tears as she watched the March Madness action from the crowd.
Rogers suffered a knee injury at the start of the game, and headed back to the locker room to be evaluated before returning. The 6-foot-9 senior went down again before the half, and was helped off the court before managing to walk as he reached the tunnel.
The commentary team were heard describing the injury as ‘crushing’ as sympathy was shown for Rogers and the Eagles after a stunning season which ended an 11-year absence from the NCAA Tournament. Rogers was quickly ruled out of the game with a knee injury, leaving the Eagles without their top scorer.
“Bad news from the American locker room,” CBS reporter Jon Rothstein said on the broadcast. “He’s been ruled out with a knee injury, obviously a lot of very emotional people back in the locker room.”
American University hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since 2014, and has only made three trips to March Madness in program history. “That was tough to watch Matt Rogers,” one fan wrote on X. “Players want to play. But the team has to protect that player from himself often times, too.”
Another added: “Matt Rogers is down again. This is heartbreaking. Five years at American to play in this game.” One fan replied: Yeah, that looked brutal. Really feel for him.”
Rogers has averaged 17 points and 5.6 rebounds this season, and has been a key part of why the Eagles reached the NCAA Tournament. Earlier this month, Rogers scored 25 points in a 74-52 win over Navy to claim the Patriot League Tournament Championship.
“Just excitement, gratitude, and just to have it packed with fans and a lot of people coming out who haven’t been in a long time,” Rogers said after winning the Patriot Championship. “You can feel the buzz around the area and it’s just fun to see.”
Rogers had opportunities to transfer during his college career, but stayed loyal to American and was eager to ensure they returned to March Madness. The senior finally achieved his dreams, but Rogers’ March Madness lasted less than one half of basketball.
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“I’ve been dreaming about this since I was in second grade,” Rogers said to The Washington Post before Wednesday’s game. “I’ve been here for … five years now. All the time and effort we put into this, finally panning out.”
Both of Rogers’ parents played sports in college, with his mom Kristi playing volleyball at Illinois State while his father David played basketball at Maryville. “Proud,” Dave Rogers said ahead of Wednesday’s game. “He worked all [five years] and culminating in this. I’m just overwhelmed.”
Rogers snubbed offers from ACC programs and schools which guaranteed him major financial incentives to stay loyal to American. Eagles head coach Duane Simpkins believes that his performances this season will pay off, and he will make it pro.
“Matt’s going to play professional basketball,” Simpkins said to The Washington Post. “One of the biggest selling points was I’ve been there before. They’re not going to look back at your junior year and say, ‘Oh, he was good at American.’ They’re going to look at what you did most recently.”
