Chad Christensen is a college graduate and a pro baseball player, but he's living at his mother's house in Cedar Rapids now while playing for the Kernels, and that means the old rules still apply.

He'll be expected to take out the garbage, wash the dishes, cut the grass and help with all the other household chores.

"Of course he does. And he knows that!" said Tracy Christensen, his mother. "I know he'll be a good help."

Christensen jokingly claimed he'll be too busy playing for the Kernels to help out around the house. "I'll tell her I have to devote all my energy to baseball," he said.

As it turns out, Christensen is a pretty good cook and will be happy to help around the house as much as possible.

"He said Sunday nights when the weather gets warm, he'll grill just about every night," offered Tracy. "I said that would be awesome."

Christensen, an all-stater at Washington High School, called his mother Saturday morning with the good news about making the club.

"I was ecstatic, to say the least," she said. "It was kind of a roller-coaster ride there for a few days. He didn't know for sure if he was coming or not. We were thrilled."

Christensen called his father, Dick, who helped coach him on youth teams and taught him the intracacies of the game at an early age. "He wasn't crying or anything," Christensen related. "He just said congratulations. He was happy for me."

Then he called his mom.

"She was a little more emotional," he said. "She was excited."

Christensen will be living with his mother and younger brother Drew, an eighth grader in the Washington district. Dick Christensen does not live in Cedar Rapids. The third brother, Austin, is currently hitting .300 for the University of Nebraska baseball team as a redshirt sophomore following Tommy John Surgery.

Tracy Christensen will be a busy baseball mom with Chad playing for the Kernels, Austin playing for Nebraska and Drew playing for the Cedar Rapids Reds travel team.

She's made a master schedule with all three teams.

"I've got it right on the refrigerator," she said. "I've got a lot of games to try and get to. I love them all the same."

There are 30 Major League teams and hundreds of minor league clubs, so the odds of Christensen being selected by the Minnesota Twins in 2013 and assigned to Cedar Rapids in 2014 were not especially good. And yet it happened.

"Once I saw I got picked up by the Twins, I knew that would happen at some point," he said. "This is a bonus to be able to play pro baseball in your hometown. I've very excited."

Christensen enjoyed an all-Big Ten career as an infielder and outfielder at Nebraska. He was selected in the 25th round of the amateur draft after his final season in college last year, and now he's back in the town where his love of the game began.

He liked baseball and liked his teammates from an early age.

"Just growing up here in Cedar Rapids, from the Hiawatha Cardinals to the Linn County Lions and Washington. A lot of great guys," he said.

"That's probably why I liked it so much. I grew up with a lot of good people, good coaches, good players."

Christensen, 23, is listed as an outfielder on the Kernels roster, but he worked out at first base Tuesday during "Meet The Kernels Night" and also will play third base.

He's got four different baseball gloves in his bag — for the outfield, first base, third base and shortstop — and is prepared to play wherever Manager Jake Mauer puts him.

"I've been doing a little bit of corner infield and corner outfield all spring. I really like it," he said. "I kind of bounced around all through high school and college.

"Just wherever I need to play is fine with me. I just enjoy being out there."

Mauer lobbied to have Christensen assigned to Cedar Rapids this year instead of to Elizabethton in the lower Appalachian League. Being from Cedar Rapids had nothing to do with being assigned to the Kernels, the skipper said.

"Chad made the team on merit. He deserves to be here," said Mauer. "He worked really hard in spring training and showed that he has versatility. He's going to be a very valuable part, without a doubt."

Mauer does not think Christensen will be in the starting lineup Thursday night when the Kernels are scheduled to open the season against Clinton at Veterans Memorial Stadium, but said he wouldn't be surprised if Christensen sees the field before the game is done.

Christensen was the last Kernel to be introduced on "Meet The Kernels Night" and drew the biggest round of applause from fans. His teammates kidded him about that.

"I'm sure he'll have a cheering section. There's nothing wrong with that," said Mauer. "What it boils down to, Chad is a great kid. I'm sure he's excited to be here in his hometown and get to play professionally in front of a lot of family and friends, so it will be a pretty neat experience for him."

One of Christensen's biggest fans is his brother Drew, who will have a pro baseball player living in his house this season.

"He's thrilled to have him home," said their mom. "He's super excited."

Christensen plans to strike a balance between his family, his friends and his job while playing for the Kernels.

"My family and friends understand that this will be pretty much what I do: Go to the field, go home at night, go to sleep," he said.

And take out the garbage.