Just over 6,080 miles separate the cities of Perm, Russia and Phoenix, Arizona. That’s the distance Thunderbird High School senior pitcher and Arizona State baseball commit Sasha Sneider had to travel as an infant.

The reason behind the drastic change of scenery was that he found himself among the over 800,000 young Russian boys waiting to be adopted. Fortunately for him, he was.

Enter Cheryl and David Sneider.

The couple had struggled to have kids in the past, and Cheryl knew her internal clock was ticking.

“(I had) four miscarriages, obviously wasn’t meant to be.” said Ms. Sneider. “My husband at the time, David, he was adopted. I was 40 and a first time mom. So we said ‘we’ll adopt’. Why not?”

The pair knew they wanted just one young child and realized there was plenty of opportunity, but recognized the challenges of adopting within the United States.

“Within my circumference of 20 miles, there’s hundreds of kids that need homes, domestically,” she added. “(There’s) too much red tape, too political, 5-7 year wait; I’m 40 I don’t have that kind of time.”

After realized that the domestic process would take more time than they wanted the Sneiders switched their sights to overseas.

After an unsuccessful trip to India, the pair took a second to reevaluate and settled on Russia.

From there, the process began. The couple got in contact with an organization based out of Tucson, called Commonwealth Adoption, which specialized in international adoption in Russia. After paying an initial $100 dollar filing fee, they were on their way.

After a myriad of meetings and what Sasha’s mom called an “insurmountable” amount of paperwork, the two finally felt like they were making progress.

Months of processing paperwork and being vetted and approved by multiple organizations ensued. The couple eagerly awaited a referral video from Russia, which was set to be a few minutes, and was about a child that Russia felt matched what the parents wanted.

At long last, the video of young Alexander, came to the Snieders.

But the process wasn’t over there.

After confirming that they wanted to adopt him, another multi-month waiting process began while the country waited to see if anyone within its borders want to adopt him as well.

Over a year after they filed their initial application, Sasha was finally on his way to the United States.

“My first McDonald’s was in Frankfurt, Germany, which was kinda cool,” Sasha Sneider said.

When Sasha, who understood Russian but spoke neither Russian or English, was brought stateside, his parents made sure from a young age he could say at least one word.

“The first words (were) mom, dad, and your adopted.” Sasha’s mom said. “You’re not from my tummy you’re from my heart. He knew that word before he knew what that word meant; because kids are ruthless.”

Given the unique dynamic of Sasha’s father David also being adopted, it wasn’t an unusual topic of conversation in the family.

“It was instilled into his brain,” she added. “So he knew from the get-go. It was never a subject we didn’t talk about.”

Fast forward a few years and Sasha found himself playing baseball and loving it.

“My dad was my first coach in t-ball and a little bit of little league,” he said. “ I got into club ball with the Warriors (Baseball Academy). My coach was Damion Easley. He played 17 years in the big leagues.”

Baseball in general and club ball specifically became the focus of Sneider’s adolescence. While he casually expressed interest in other sports, baseball quickly emerged as his favorite.

“He loves basketball, he can play football and he likes soccer,” his mom said laughing. “But no, he doesn’t want to play any of them. That’s just hanging out with his friends.”

As he got older Sneider’s focus on baseball sharpened. Both him and his mother realized the impact that playing travel baseball and Easley had on him as a player and a person.

“Club ball is huge,” she said. “It’s a totally different caliber of baseball.”

“He’s a great guy,” Sneider said of his club coach. “I’ve learned a lot from him. Attitude is a big thing, that’s why I’m a very calm person.

That calm demeanor helped Sasha settle in on the mound. Being a lefty, he loved playing first base but he quickly realized he belonged 60 feet six inches from the plate.

“He was good. At a very young age this was realized,” his mom said. “He traveled to Cooperstown with his club ball team, and there were people there that saw something in him.”

Soon more than parents and other coaches at travel ball tournaments started to take notice. As high school started, so did the recruiting pitches from division one schools across the country.

As just a sophomore, Sneider found himself enjoying success and reaping the benefits that came with it. He was ranked among the top five left-handed pitchers, and top 15 players in the state by both Prep Baseball Report, and Perfect Game USA, and competed at the prestigious Area Code Games in 2017.

At the high school level, Sneiders head coach Michael Jacobs knew when he started his tenure the talent that he had at his disposal and also knew that he didn’t have to do to much actual coaching.

“You take over and you know you have a guy that has experience and your goal is to continue to refine him,” Jacobs said. “There’s nothing I’ve done to help him get to the next level.”

While their time together has been short, Jacobs has recognized growth in Sneider as a leader on the team more so than as a player.

“I think for him, just learning how to be the best teammate he can be,” his coach added. “When things don’t go his way on the mound just letting his teammates know that he’ll pick him up or give them another opportunity to be successful.

Sneider’s recruitment was all but wrapped up when Jacobs got to Thunderbird. While the process was relatively quick, he enjoyed the process.

“That was a lot of fun,” Sneider said about the recruiting process. “I loved talking to the coaches and meeting new people, learning about their schools, but ASU is the spot.”

The decision to commit to ASU came early for Sneider. He verbally committed on his 17th birthday and never looked back.

There’s a sense of familiarity with the program. He knows a multiple players on the current ASU roster through his years playing travel ball.

But that’s not the only reason Sneider committed. He also has one eye on the future.

“Scouts wise, they’re all around you,” he said. “And you’re right in the middle of it during spring training.”

For his mom, the recruiting process was just as exhilarating, but it was her job to make sure he stayed grounded and focused on more than just baseball.

“It was awesome,” she said. “(But) It’s school first. The rest is extra. He’s never faltered on that he’s very focused on school.”

Sneiders mom also felt like ASU was the right fit, citing that head coach Tracy Smith and his staff seemed like they genuinely wanted Sasha to don the maroon and gold.

“I’ve met coach Tracy and I know him very well,” she said. “I know they’re looking forward to getting him out there. Him and coach Tracy stay in touch via text, which is impressive to me.”

The future looks bright for Sneider. Pac-12 baseball is on the horizon and he’s leading his high school teammates into the playoffs. He signed his letter of intent and will be an ASU freshman in the fall.

It’s an improbable story that started in an orphanage another world away. As he looks towards his future, Sneider is so thankful for what his parents have given him so far.

“(They’ve meant) absolutely everything,” he said. “They’ve taught me everything not just to do with baseball and not baseball, just being a human being in general and I can’t thank them enough.”

“The minute you stop having fun and loving it, you quit,” his mom said. “He never stopped loving it.”

And from the looks of it, he never will.