Northwestern University Athletics
Jake Stolley: Perseverance Pays Off
12/11/2015 10:57:00 AM | Baseball
By Kelly Boutelle, Northwestern Correspondent
If you told senior Jake Stolley four years ago that he would be a relief pitcher for the Northwestern baseball team, he probably would not have believed you.
When he got accepted into the University, Stolley made the decision to put his passion for baseball in the past and begin a college career with a sole focus in academics. Stolley, however, hung on to the hopes of potentially walking on to the varsity team.
And if something was meant to be, it always finds a way.
"After I was accepted, I contacted the baseball coaches asking if I could tryout and walk on to the team," Stolley said. "After letting me practice for about a week in the fall of my freshman year, they told me that they liked me, but there was no room on the team for me at the time. I just figured that I would play on the club team and focus on academics."
The 21-year-old Iowa native grew up the son of two teachers, so academics were always important. While playing three varsity sports in high school, Stolley also graduated as class valedictorian and a national merit scholar.
"Coming out of high school I had pretty good grades, but the baseball offers from schools were not on par with where I knew I could go academically," he said.
Stolley began his pursuit of a chemical engineering degree and played on the club baseball team for his freshman year. The team played eight games during the season and practiced maybe once a week with half the team showing up. For Stolley, it was nothing like the competitive nature he was accustomed to.
"I grew up playing baseball," he said. "I started when I was six years old and I had played competitively throughout high school. The club level wasn't what I was looking for."
After a dull club season, Stolley received great news: A walk-on spot opened up on the varsity team, and the coaches offered it to him. He gladly accepted and was set up on the team that summer.
"During my sophomore year, I got a lot of opportunity [to play] due to injuries, but, to be honest, I didn't do terribly well," he said, smiling. "I was so nervous."
After shaking off his first-varsity-season nerves, Stolley made strides that summer by playing for the Green Bay Bullfrogs in the Northwoods Summer League. His coaches were excited to see what their walk-on would bring to his junior season.
"Last year, my junior season, I got a lot of work out of the bullpen as a relief pitcher," he said. "It just worked out that I had success coming out in the sixth inning."
Now, on the verge of his last season as a Northwestern student-athlete, Stolley reflects on how his college experience could have been so different.
"It could have easily gone the other way," he said. "The coaches could have not given me a tryout and I would've been on the club team. I would have still loved it because I would be playing baseball and hanging out with some cool guys. Maybe I would have joined a fraternity."
Although Stolley sometimes struggles with the balance of rigorous academics and intense athletics, he is thankful that baseball is still such a big part of his life.
"Our new coach [Spencer Allen] always tells us that baseball is not who you are, it's just what you do," he said. "I think that it is a part of who I am, though. I was lucky enough to repeatedly get opportunities, even when I didn't have the best sophomore season. I knew that, wherever I went for school, I would try out for the team. I didn't expect so much success."
The future is bittersweet for Stolley. His senior season will bring new opportunities for him and the entire team. With a new coach, stellar freshmen and a new attitude, he believes the sky is the limit.
"The entire new coaching staff is great," he said. "There is a big emphasis on working hard, but having fun. He has made it easy for us to get past the change and focus on baseball. It feels like things are finally coming together."
As for baseball after college, Stolley has fully prepared himself to leave it behind.
"Sports eventually end," he said. "I know that academics will carry me farther than baseball ever will. Although there is a small chance of me playing after college, that's not my only focus right now—I'm trying to enjoy it while I still can."
For now, Stolley and his team impatiently wait for their first game this spring, when they can finally show off their hard work from the off-season. On March 30, Stolley and the WIldcats will play in front of their home crowd at the new Rocky & Berenice Miller Park for the first time in 2016, as the 'Cats kick off a new era of Northwestern baseball in Evanston.
The losses may come with the wins, but Stolley is not one to turn down a challenge. Instead, in the face of rejection, he rises to the occasion and perseveres.
Just like he has done so many times before.
If you told senior Jake Stolley four years ago that he would be a relief pitcher for the Northwestern baseball team, he probably would not have believed you.
When he got accepted into the University, Stolley made the decision to put his passion for baseball in the past and begin a college career with a sole focus in academics. Stolley, however, hung on to the hopes of potentially walking on to the varsity team.
And if something was meant to be, it always finds a way.
"After I was accepted, I contacted the baseball coaches asking if I could tryout and walk on to the team," Stolley said. "After letting me practice for about a week in the fall of my freshman year, they told me that they liked me, but there was no room on the team for me at the time. I just figured that I would play on the club team and focus on academics."
The 21-year-old Iowa native grew up the son of two teachers, so academics were always important. While playing three varsity sports in high school, Stolley also graduated as class valedictorian and a national merit scholar.
"Coming out of high school I had pretty good grades, but the baseball offers from schools were not on par with where I knew I could go academically," he said.
Stolley began his pursuit of a chemical engineering degree and played on the club baseball team for his freshman year. The team played eight games during the season and practiced maybe once a week with half the team showing up. For Stolley, it was nothing like the competitive nature he was accustomed to.
"I grew up playing baseball," he said. "I started when I was six years old and I had played competitively throughout high school. The club level wasn't what I was looking for."
After a dull club season, Stolley received great news: A walk-on spot opened up on the varsity team, and the coaches offered it to him. He gladly accepted and was set up on the team that summer.
"During my sophomore year, I got a lot of opportunity [to play] due to injuries, but, to be honest, I didn't do terribly well," he said, smiling. "I was so nervous."
After shaking off his first-varsity-season nerves, Stolley made strides that summer by playing for the Green Bay Bullfrogs in the Northwoods Summer League. His coaches were excited to see what their walk-on would bring to his junior season.
"Last year, my junior season, I got a lot of work out of the bullpen as a relief pitcher," he said. "It just worked out that I had success coming out in the sixth inning."
Now, on the verge of his last season as a Northwestern student-athlete, Stolley reflects on how his college experience could have been so different.
"It could have easily gone the other way," he said. "The coaches could have not given me a tryout and I would've been on the club team. I would have still loved it because I would be playing baseball and hanging out with some cool guys. Maybe I would have joined a fraternity."
Although Stolley sometimes struggles with the balance of rigorous academics and intense athletics, he is thankful that baseball is still such a big part of his life.
"Our new coach [Spencer Allen] always tells us that baseball is not who you are, it's just what you do," he said. "I think that it is a part of who I am, though. I was lucky enough to repeatedly get opportunities, even when I didn't have the best sophomore season. I knew that, wherever I went for school, I would try out for the team. I didn't expect so much success."
The future is bittersweet for Stolley. His senior season will bring new opportunities for him and the entire team. With a new coach, stellar freshmen and a new attitude, he believes the sky is the limit.
"The entire new coaching staff is great," he said. "There is a big emphasis on working hard, but having fun. He has made it easy for us to get past the change and focus on baseball. It feels like things are finally coming together."
As for baseball after college, Stolley has fully prepared himself to leave it behind.
"Sports eventually end," he said. "I know that academics will carry me farther than baseball ever will. Although there is a small chance of me playing after college, that's not my only focus right now—I'm trying to enjoy it while I still can."
For now, Stolley and his team impatiently wait for their first game this spring, when they can finally show off their hard work from the off-season. On March 30, Stolley and the WIldcats will play in front of their home crowd at the new Rocky & Berenice Miller Park for the first time in 2016, as the 'Cats kick off a new era of Northwestern baseball in Evanston.
The losses may come with the wins, but Stolley is not one to turn down a challenge. Instead, in the face of rejection, he rises to the occasion and perseveres.
Just like he has done so many times before.
••••••
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