Spalding Baseball Senior Jacob Spanyer highlights his background and journey to becoming an NCAA student-athlete.
The journey to becoming an NCAA Student-Athlete is one that takes many different forms.
The modern-day NCAA athlete makeup is far different than that it may have been just five years ago. With the integration of NIL (Name Image and Likeness) opportunities allowing players to utilize their unique skillset and brand to monetize their efforts, the landscape has changed forever.
Add in now that student-athletes may now transfer to another school freely without sitting out a year, and NCAA athletics have become much more akin to what fans are accustomed to seeing in professional and Olympic-level sports.
Navigating those modern waters in Spalding Baseball Senior Jacob Spanyer, who is dipping his toes into the sports content landscape a Writing and Content Intern with the State of Louisville.
Over the next few months, Jacob will be taking us through his journey as an NCAA student-athlete and covering NCAA athletics from the perspective of a current athlete.
This week, let’s get to know Spanyer as he dives into his world at Spalding University- Located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky.
Hello everybody!
My name is Jacob Spanyer and I am the newest addition to the State of Louisville team. I thought that before I got going I would give you a little introduction to who I am, what I like to do, and why Louisville is a special place for me.
Firstly, I was born here in Louisville and have lived here my entire life. I grew up in the Highlands and lived there up until this past fall when my family and I moved to the J-town area.
I went to Bloom Elementary, Highland Middle, and graduated from Atherton High School in 2020. I now attend Spalding University, where I am in my final semester as an undergraduate student, and where I am also a senior on the baseball team, which leads me to the next fact about myself.
If there is one thing you need to know about me, it’s that the game of baseball runs my life.
Growing up, I played pretty much every sport that you could imagine, but baseball was the only one that stuck for the long run and there is a very specific reason for that. All of the other sports that I played, I didn’t really have someone going through it with me. Sure, my parents took me, supported me from the stands/bleachers, but I didn’t have someone within the sport that kept me there. Baseball was a different story. Throughout my early years within the sport, I always had my dad around going through it with me. Each year he would coach me, whether it was as the head coach, or an assistant helping out another player’s dad. There’s no doubt that I credit my love for the game to him. Because of him, baseball wasn’t just a sport. It was a bonding experience. I loved showing up to the field everyday because it gave me a chance to be with my dad, and it gave me a chance to make him proud, which fueled me to get better and better. At a certain point, I told my dad that it was my dream to play college baseball. When my dad passed away in April of 2017, I knew that I had to work my butt off to make that a reality, and to complete the goal that we always dreamed of.
Another thing that is important to know about me is why I like to write, and why I am here. How I got into writing is actually a funny story. I have always been told that I am a good writer, but I never had any thoughts of doing anything with it because I never thought it was all that fun. Then, in an English class sophomore year at Spalding, I had an assignment where I had to write about a cultural icon that had impacted my life. I chose to write about Spider-Man, who was my favorite superhero growing up. When I was in the middle of writing this essay, I realized how much fun I was having. At that point I had the realization that maybe I do like writing, and I had just never written about anything I actually had any real interest in. After that, I started writing about the things I like to do, watch, play, etc., and I have enjoyed writing ever since. Pairing that new love of writing with my love for sports, I was able to find something that I really enjoy spending my time doing.
Another thing that you need to know about me before I get started here is why I love Louisville athletics and why I have a great interest in writing/covering them. Simply put, a lot of my greatest memories in life come from Louisville sporting events. Watching Lamar spin into the endzone to cap off a blowout win against Florida State from section 306 of Cardinal Stadium with my brother and grandparents, watching Louisville basketball take down Michigan in a sold out, top five matchup from the nosebleeds of the Yum! Center in 2019, watching Cameron Masterman hit a go ahead bomb from section 203 of Jim Patterson Stadium to cap off an instant classic against Michigan to send the Cards to the 2022 Super Regional, watching Jawhar Jordan hit “the hole off right tackle” against Notre Dame from the Flight Deck with some of my best friends, all of these are core memories of mine provided by Louisville athletics that have made me blessed to be a part of this fanbase and blessed to live in this city.
I hope that from this everyone has a better idea of who I am and what I’m all about. I appreciate all who took the time to read this and get to know me a little better. I am super excited to get going, and I will see you all soon!
Background
I was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. I grew up in the Highlands for all of my life up until this past fall. I graduated from Atherton High School in 2020.
Baseball History
I have played baseball for as long as I can remember. Growing up, I played every sport you could imagine, but baseball was the only one that stuck.
I think the main reason that it stuck for me is because my dad was always coaching me when growing up. Baseball bonded me with my dad, and the bond that we built on the field made me love the game. Don’t get me wrong, we bonded in many other ways, but the baseball field connected him and I more than anything.
It was always such a good feeling to make him proud as well, especially with him being my coach, so that fueled me to get better. My dad passed away in April of 2017, in the middle of my freshman season of high school. I had always dreamed of playing baseball at the collegiate level, and when my dad passed I knew I had to make that dream into a reality.
How I Got to Spalding
My head coach in high school played at Spalding in the early 2010s and was teammates with my current head coach.
Basically, he told him about me, and then suggested that I sign up for one of their summer prospect camps. Before the camp, I went on a tour of the school and met with the head coach and loved everything about it. A couple of weeks later, I went to the camp and was offered a spot on the team. I committed to the program in October of 2019.
Getting into Writing
How I got into writing is actually a funny story. I have always been told that I am a good writer, but I never had any thoughts of doing anything with it because I never thought it was all that fun. Then, in an English class sophomore year at Spalding, I had an assignment where I had to write about a cultural icon that had impacted my life. I chose to write about Spider-Man, who was my favorite superhero growing up. When I was in the middle of writing this essay, I realized how much fun I was having. At that point, I had the realization that maybe I do like writing, and I had just never written about anything I actually had any real interest in.
After that, I started writing about the things I like to do, watch, play, etc., and I have enjoyed writing ever since. Pairing that new love of writing with my love for sports, I was able to find something that I really enjoy spending my time doing.
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What I love about Louisville and the local sports scene
I have called Louisville my home for my entire life, and I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like if I lived anywhere other than here. The local sports scene is what drives a lot of my love for this city.
A lot of my greatest memories in life come from Louisville sporting events. Watching Lamar spin into the end zone to cap off a blowout win against Florida State from section 306 of Cardinal Stadium with my brother and grandparents, watching Louisville basketball take down Michigan in a sold out, top-five matchup from the nosebleeds of the Yum! Center in 2019, watching Cameron Masterman hit a go-ahead bomb from section 203 of Jim Patterson Stadium to cap off an instant classic against Michigan to send the Cards to the 2022 Super Regional, watching Jawhar Jordan hit “the hole off right tackle” against Notre Dame from the Flight Deck with some of my best friends, all of these are core memories of mine provided my Louisville athletics that have made me blessed to call this city my home.
