CHANGE IN DIRECTION

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            More than 20 years later, Jake Baskin humbly admits that his biggest contribution to Baylor baseball was "staying out of the way in our apartment" when future first-round draft pick Jason Jennings was making his way to the ballpark.

            A left-handed pitcher out of Waxahachie High School, Baskin made limited appearances in his five years with the Baylor baseball program, but was part of a 1999 team that won a school-record 50 games and "got five outs from Omaha (and the College World Series)."

            "That was a bit of the tradeoff for being on historically great teams," he said. "I was on a pitching staff with three first-round draft picks, so I didn't get out there as much I would have liked. But, you got to celebrate a ton of success. And not just success on the field, we were really proud of the ownership that we took in changing the direction of Baylor baseball and establishing a new culture.

            "And just being around the caliber of leaders and people that were in our dugout and in our lockerroom was an experience that I think about all the time."

            Life has come full circle for Baskin, who remembers coming to visit his grandparents in Waco long before his college years. After 20 years in sales and sponsorships, he changed paths nearly two years ago when he came back to Baylor as Assistant AD and Director of Development.

            "I just get a lot more fired up coming into the office every day," said the 44-year-old Baskin, who was promoted to Associate AD and Senior Director of Development (Major Gifts) this summer. "Working in the athletics department that had such an impact on me and a job that makes an impact on student-athletes and ultimately what I hope is an impact on the Kingdom through these student-athletes . . . that's about as good as it gets."

            Baskin was part of Steve Smith's first full recruiting class at Baylor in 1995, a talented group that included pitcher Kip Wells, another future first-round pick; All-American second baseman Eric Nelson, the program's all-time career leader with 204 RBI; and All-American outfielder Jon Topolski, a .351 hitter who still holds the career marks for hits (333), runs (285), triples (25) and home runs (50).

            A 2014 Baylor Hall of Fame inductee, Topolski was a 5-10, 160-pound high school shortstop who got a late offer after Notre Dame wouldn't even guarantee him a locker as a walk-on.

            "I didn't really know what I was walking into, because a lot of these guys just made themselves into who they are. It wasn't obvious from the get-go," Baskin said. "You might call them the baseball equivalent of gym rats. Our guys, especially our hitters, just lived up here. I wish I would have taken a little more of the work ethic that a Jon Topolski had. Don't get me wrong, I did work hard, but they were just on another level."

            In his collegiate debut as a redshirt freshman, Baskin came out of the bullpen in a 13-2 loss to defending national champion LSU, giving up a three-run home to Mike Koerner and then Eddy Furniss "hits a one-hop grounder off my thigh, and I could not feel my leg for about 30 minutes," he said.

            "At one point, I was the NCAA record-holder for the highest career ERA," he said jokingly. "Coach Smith pulls me out after two batters, I can't pitch. I got no outs, so do the math, my ERA was infinity. Two weeks later, I got an out against Texas State, and my ERA falls to 91.00 or whatever. But, that was my debut, on the road at LSU."

            Two years later, Baskin was part of a team that won a school-record 50 games and won the Waco Regional before letting a late lead slip away in a 6-2 loss to Oklahoma State in the decisive Game 3 of the Super Regional.
Jake Baskin Family

            "Yeah, it's fun to throw a ball as hard as you can, it's fun to hit the ball," Baskin said. "But, when I look back on what I experienced as a student-athlete here and playing for Coach Smith and being around guys like Jon and Jason, you get a real appreciation for what athletics can do for you and how it can mold and shape you."

            Earning his BBA in finance from Baylor in 2000, Jake took a sales job with Dell "back when the internet was still kind of becoming mainstream. People still needed consultative help just to buy a computer."

            After three years at Dell, progressing from personal sales to handling large corporate accounts, Jake said he got burned out, "chasing pretty hard after some competitive goals and probably not a great work-life balance."

            "At that point in my life, I was trying to figure out, how do I live life without athletics?" he said "It's not trying to sell more computers than the next guy, I'll tell you that. I had a little bit of soul-searching . . . I don't want to work myself to the bone competing to sell the most computers. What's something that's captivated me my whole life that I feel like I can turn into a career? It was like, let's figure out a way to work in sports."

            Starting out at the "sub-basement level," Jake worked in minor league baseball for the Round Rock Express, making $60 per game.

            "I'm doing the chicken dance on top of the dugouts in between innings, I'm working a three-man water balloon launcher in left field to shoot T-shirts and I'm dressing up as a giant foam No. 7 to be in a Texas Lottery promotion," he said.

            Getting his foot in the door with the Nolan Ryan family, though, Jake was recommended for a full-time position with TCU Athletics as Assistant Director of Athletics Marketing, primarily promoting the Horned Frogs' baseball and soccer teams.

            "That's what kind of started me on my path that I did for the better part of the next 15 years, which was multimedia rights and sponsorship selling," he said.

            After two years at TCU, Jake took a job as Senior Account Executive with IMG Longhorn Sports Marketing (which became Learfield IMG College in 2019).

            "It was a little hard, being a student-athlete here at Baylor and playing against Texas; everybody wants to beat Texas," he said. "Working for them, even in a third-party role, was helpful for my career just because the size of that operation, the power of the brand. That was a really great experience, and I felt like I grew professionally. But, I always felt a little bit like an outsider."

            To set the record straight, Jake said he "never paid for any burnt-orange (apparel). I got a lot of free stuff."

            Coming to another crossroads two years ago, Jake felt like he had lost his spark, "doing the same thing year-in and year-out. The role itself had become less and less of a challenge."

            By this point, there was also a family to think about and provide for. Jake got married to Meredith in 2013, and the couple has four children: Clara (8), Rider (6) and twin 3-year-old girls, Cate and Maya.

            "To me, the dream job would be a radio announcer for an MLB team," he said. "I felt like I could be the introvert that I am, but still be around the game that I love and around people. But, I've got a family to take care of, so that's not going to happen."

            Not a big-city guy, Jake found Waco to be his sweet spot – not too big and not too small.

            "It's big enough to have one of just about everything you'd want to do, but still small enough where you can go to a restaurant or be out with your family and just see people you know," he said. "I had that growing up in Waxahachie, and I feel like that's still here in Waco."

            Then, there was the obvious lure of coming back to a place where he had "such fond memories of my experience here as a student and as a student-athlete."

            "Being able to see the drum that (Baylor VP and Director of Athletics Mack Rhoades) has been banging here in Preparing Champions for Life, that really resonated with me.

Jake Baskin Family

           "It's the kind of stuff that I talk to my kids about now. That's really why we're doing sports: we want to honor God with our effort, we want to develop our character, we want to serve our teammates, and we want to have fun. That's what I was getting through my five years of playing baseball here – without someone really telling me."

            While he had no fundraising experience, Jake said there is some crossover with sales.

"You need to have relationship skills and a desire to get to know what people are passionate about," he said. "And then in this job, there's a common thread amongst all of the donors that I work with. That's Baylor University. Whether they're an alum, a parent or a letter winner, there's always that shared affinity that we have for Baylor and usually for Baylor Athletics."

            Finding his comfort zone in a new path, Jake was elevated to Associate AD and Senior Director of Development (Major Gifts) this summer. Former Baylor quarterback Nick Florence has moved to a different role as Managing Director of Development (Principal Gifts).

            "This is a reflection on our donors," Jake said. "If fundraisers are getting promoted, it's only because our donors are promoting us, in a sense, because of their generosity and their willingness to give. I'm just the conduit between the donor and an opportunity to make an impact."

            Florence said Baskin "has been a great addition to our team."

            "After two decades in sales, he has made a seamless transition into the world of athletics fundraising. Not only is Jake building a quick reputation as one of our top fundraisers, he is a great colleague, friend, husband and father. He is one you want in your corner. Jake truly cares about advancing the mission and vision of Baylor Athletics in Preparing Champions for Life."

            In his new roles as a husband and a father, Jake said he's gained a whole new understanding of the gospel.

            "I feel like being a father is a almost a worship experience every day," he said, "because as your kids look to you, my effectiveness as a father is really only as effective as my understanding of who I am as a son. Obviously, I fail all the time. And I tell them quite often, you've only got one perfect father, and that's not me."

            On top of his role in athletics development, Jake served on the search committee when Mitch Thompson was hired as Baylor baseball's new head coach. Thompson was an assistant coach at Baylor during Baskin's playing days and recruited him from Waxahachie.

            "I've known him since I was 17. I was in a dugout with him for five years, so it's impossible to separate the experiences I shared with Mitch," Jake said. "You want somebody to care about something as much as you do. And that's what stood out the most to me about Mitch was that this was his dream job. I felt like Mitch would have crawled here to get this job."

            While still new to the fundraising role, Jake said "this is a place we would like to call home for a long time."

            "I'm excited about the opportunities we have within athletics and Baylor as a whole to get us to where we want to be in raising $200 million a year and to do the things we want to do in our athletics department," he said.

            "I feel like there's a ton of work to be done. I'm not a good enough multi-tasker to look that far down the road. I'm more about, how can I tackle wholeheartedly what is right in front of me and do it in a way that honors God and serve this place that has served me so well."

CHANGE IN DIRECTION

Related News

Related Videos

Promotional Background Photo

Footer