Six years after surviving a gunshot wound to the head in the Santa Fe High School shooting, Rome Shubert hung up his baseball cleats, closing out his college career at Sam Houston. The tragedy of May 18, 2018, where ten lost their lives, left an indelible mark on Shubert, but the determined athlete refused to be defined by it. In a statement obtained by the Houston Chronicle, Shubert expressed the weight of that day, "From my shoulders down to my stomach was red." He survived through the chaos and the screams, found the courage to run for safety, and started a long fight to recovery, choosing to focus on his faith, family, and the love for baseball.

The Houston Chronicle shared Shubert's memories from the incident, a recount of flipping art tables for cover and escaping over a locked gate surrounded by a brick wall "eight to 10 feet tall." Despite the shadows cast by that darkest of moments, Shubert emerged to continue his journey on the baseball diamond, dedicated not to letting the assailant win. “One of the biggest things is not letting that (shooter) win. You don’t need to get revenge on him or tell him he needs to go to hell or needs to die or anything like that — he did what he did. … If you’re giving him attention, that’s exactly what they want." he explained.

On a more hopeful note, Shubert's latest feat was celebrated on Senior Day at Don Sanders Stadium. His time at Sam Houston State was marked not just by his 2-2 record over 35 innings as a reliever but also by his resilience and character. According to Houston Chronicle interview, fellow Sam Houston pitcher Marshall Wales described Shubert, saying, "Rome embodies toughness. You can see it in his upbringing and the way he’s handled what happened. He loves his teammates and holds you accountable — he’s just the epitome of a great teammate.”

Before his tenure at Sam Houston, Shubert endured the cancellations of his senior year at Santa Fe due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a re-route from the University of Houston to Wharton Community College and then Sam Houston. His journey has been a testament to tenacity and the healing power of sports. Notably, just years prior, right after the shooting, Shubert took a significant step in his own recovery when he started and won a playoff game for his Santa Fe team, as reported by ABC13.

The chapter of college baseball may be closing for Shubert, but the lessons he's carried from it and the memory of those lost on that fateful day six years ago, marked forever on his skin with a "Santa Fe Strong" tattoo, will guide him into the next innings of his life. Sheri Shubert, Rome's mother, per the Houston Chronicle, confided through tears, "Rome is the strongest person I know." This strength and resolve remain the enduring legacy of his story.