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Jackson makes meteoric rise from bench to back-to-back All-American awards

Matt Jackson So, how does one go from being primarily a reserve his first two seasons to a two-time first-team All-American, as was Matt Jackson’s career arc with The College of Wooster baseball program.

“Bad coaching, I guess,” joked long-time Fighting Scot boss Tim Pettorini. “He probably should have been playing a lot sooner. He was behind some good people … paid his dues and worked really hard, and when he got his opportunity, he sure made the most of it.”

Pettorini had “real high expectations” of Jackson when he enrolled, but those had to be put on hold, as is the case for many youngsters in Wooster’s nationally-competitive program. The 6-1, 210-pound freshman from just north of Dayton, Ohio (Troy High School), played very little in 1994, instead learning valuable lessons by watching a veteran team win the NCAA Mideast regional, and thus qualify for the eight-team Div. III Baseball Championship. A few more at bats and a conference championship came Jackson’s sophomore year, but he was still primarily a backup catcher and designated hitter.

Then, seemingly overnight, Jackson transformed into one of the best players in Div. III. After winning the Scots’ starting position behind the plate, he hit .411 with 14 doubles, 15 home runs, and 56 RBI, leading the team in the latter two categories as well as in slugging percentage (.828). He amassed first-team honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association on its All-America and All-Mideast Region Teams as well as from the North Coast Athletic Conference, but something was missing.

“It was a great year personally, but the team struggled to mesh and we faltered down the stretch,” Jackson recalled. “I rededicated myself to the team concept and realized we would only go as far as our underclassmen took us (in the 1997 season). With only two seniors, it was a large responsibility to lead the ball club in the right direction.”

While Jackson’s numbers his senior year – .405 batting average, 16 doubles, Div. III-leading 21 homers, 75 RBI, and .821 slugging percentage – were eye-popping once again, it was those leadership skills that resulted in a remarkable postseason ride. Entering NCAA Mideast regional play with a 38-5-1 record, Wooster dropped the opener of the double-elimination tournament, but behind the urging of Jackson, it rattled off four consecutive victories for the program’s third such championship. A similar plot took place at the Div. III Baseball Championship, as the Scots lost their first game in Salem, Va., only to win the next four for a spot in the national championship game.

“He willed us to the World Series his last year,” said Pettorini. “And at that press conference after we lost the first game, he told the people there we weren’t going home until the very end, and he told the team that. They listened to him. He was just a great leader.”

Wooster ultimately finished runner-up and with a school-record 46 wins (46-8-1), and in the process, Jackson again was named the ABCA’s first-team all-American catcher, to go with the first-team all-Mideast and NCAC Player-of-the-Year awards.

Today, Jackson is an independent insurance agent in Cincinnati and married to a fellow Wooster alum, Kate Lyon ’98 Jackson. They have two sons, Stephan (4) and Connor (1).