Louisville baseball: Former Card Jake Snider becoming a star in Independent league

Former Louisville baseball star Jake Snider is raking in an independent baseball league. What led to Snider’s commitment to UofL and his unique story post-collegiate baseball.

As have many Louisville baseball players, Jake Snider left his mark on the program just as much as the program left on him. 

A member of two College World Series teams, Snider was especially impressive during postseason play of the historic 2019 run by Dan McDonnell’s squad. In two regional games against Illinois State, Snider tallied six hits, three runs, five RBI’s, and his first home run of the season. A performance that was so good, he would go on to earn Louisville Regional Most Outstanding Player, and the nickname, “Postseason Jake.”

As if this wasn’t special enough, he got to do all of this with his dad in the third base coach’s box. 

Eric Snider joined the Louisville coaching staff in 2014 after spending 16 years with Illinois. Known as an elite recruiter and a coach with an aggressive offensive philosophy, Eric had become an integral part of the coaching staff. 

Ultimately, it was what got his son in a Louisville uniform.

“Hopefully my dad hears this,” Jake said, “junior year in high school, I heard him and my mom talking when I was going through the recruiting process, and growing up he never got to see me play much. I heard him say, ‘the only thing I want is for him to be happy and to see my kid play’. So that was definitely the biggest contribution to me going there.”

Jake was a part of a special 2016 recruiting class at Louisville that saw nine guys turn pro. Following his junior season of high school where he hit a ridiculous .552 at Champaign Central in Champaign, Illinois, Snider transferred to Ballard High School in Louisville for his final high school season.

A .469 average while at Ballard helped propel him to the fourth-ranked player in Kentucky’s 2016 class according to Perfect Game.

Following a historic season at Louisville, capped off by the fifth trip to Omaha in program history, Snider heard his name called in the 20th round of the 2019 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates. Unfortunately for Snider and hundreds of other baseball players, the pandemic hit less than a year later and flipped the game upside down. 

A drastic overhaul to minor league baseball and roster crunching ultimately led to the Pirates releasing Snider.

However, he was not down for long. Less than a month after his release, Snider signed on with the Lake Country DockHounds, the newest team in the independent American Association. 

It was here that Snider thrived in 2022. 

Snider slashed .303/.406/.457 this season for the DockHounds. He also added 9 home runs, 41 RBIs, 17 stolen bases, and 92 hits in 83 games played.

There was no doubt that Snider led the offensive charge for his team this year.

Not only did Snider enjoy a nice season, but he also got to do so in a brand-new stadium with great fans and a great atmosphere.

The Lake Country DockHounds are the newest team to be added to the American Association and are located in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin.  Forget what you think you know about independent baseball. Some of the most competitive baseball can be found in the American Association. 

“It’s all about winning here,” said Snider, “I love it. It’s good to be here. It kind of feels like college again where it’s just a good environment for baseball”

Independent baseball can often be overlooked by baseball fans. Anyone who does so, however, is doing themselves a disservice; A lesson that Jake himself learned early in his time with Lake Country. 

“For me, I always looked at Indy ball as almost a step-down,” Snider said. “I was so wrong about everything pretty much. The competition is phenomenal. The competition is better than my time in the Pirates organization.”

Snider is not the only Louisville Cardinal who is currently playing independent baseball. Blake Tiberi also plays in the American Association as a member of the Sioux City Explorers. Sam Bordner is currently a member of the Gastonia Honey Hunters of the Atlantic League. 

As many who have come through Dan McDonnell’s program, Snider felt the impact of the program as it was time for him to take the next step to professional baseball. 

“They did a phenomenal job. They are going to make you the best you can be. That place just does a phenomenal job of pumping guys out to the draft and making players the best that they can be.”

Jake also testified about the brotherhood of the team and how everyone looks out for each other. He noted the influence that Ryan Summers had on his own career when he first stepped onto campus. 

“I still keep in contact with Ryan today,” Snider said. “He did everything to make my life semi-hard, but also made sure that I had my head on straight.”

There has always been nothing but high praise for the championship culture built by the current coaching staff at Louisville and it speaks volumes about the program when professional guys are left with that kind of impact. 

So what can fans expect from Snider in 2023? 

Snider’s future is unclear at the moment. He had as good of a season as anyone in the American Association, which could warrant a chance at a contract in affiliated baseball. Otherwise, he could return to the DockHounds for another season in Oconomowoc. 

Jake had his own message for the fans of Louisville for 2023 though.

“2023 is the year. Should be the year.”