Jacob Pike acknowledges that he might never have considered playing baseball for Centre College if not for his coach.
The Boyle County senior outfielder’s college choice is the same school where Kyle Wynn worked as an assistant coach for six seasons before coming to Boyle last year.
“He’s the one that brought Centre College in my mind,” Pike said of Wynn. “I was intimidated by Centre’s academics, I never thought I really had a shot to get in, and then he talked me into going ahead and applying. He said I had the ACT score.”
Once Pike was accepted by Centre, he knew that’s where he wanted to go for reasons that go well beyond what he can do on the diamond.
“The education is the best in the state, and it’s going to open the most doors for me in my future. I think I’ll play a lot there,” he said. “It was more about academics, but I’m also looking forward to going and playing baseball.”
Pike said he looked at Berea, Brescia, St. Catharine and Mount St. Joseph and even considered attending Northern Kentucky and attempting to walk on there before the door opened at Centre.
“Everything happened late,” he said.
Pike’s ACT score (26) and grade-point average (3.25) were good enough to get him on a waiting list at Centre, He was accepted earlier this month and signed the paperwork to make his decision official on Friday.
“I was kind of stressed all day. I was nervous, ready to get it over with,” he said.
Pike said he is considering courses of study in two dissimilar fields, pre-dentistry and banking, and he is also eager to see what he can do on the field. He said he believes he has made the best choice, and he knows Wynn deserves considerable credit for that.
“He’s the one I need to thank,” Pike said. “He’s the main reason I found Centre College, and I feel like that’s going to be the best place. I’m extremely excited for the fall.”
