Jacen Nalesnik

Position:
OF
Height:
6-2
Weight:
null
Class:
Senior
Hometown:
Lehighton, Pa.
High School:
Lehighton
Major:
History

WHY LEHIGH?
"It gave me an opportunity to get a great education and play Division I baseball close to home."

ON COACH LEARY
"Coach is extremely knowledgable when it comes to baseball, and he really stresses accountability which is great."

2017 (SENIOR SEASON)
Named an ABCA East All-Region Second Team selection, an All-ECAC First Team selection, an All-Patriot League First Team selection and an Academic All-Patriot League selection…finished the season as the team leader in slugging pct. (.606), runs (53), hits (62), RBI (39), doubles (14), home runs (13), total bases (117) and stolen bases (9)...also led Lehigh in batting average (.321) among players who played in 40+ games…led the Patriot League in home runs, slugging percentage and total bases, while ranking second in runs scored…on a national level, he finished the regular season tied for the ninth-most home runs, tied for the fifth-most runs scored, tied for the 11th-most total bases and tied for the 17th-most runs per game (1.06) in NCAA Division I...recorded 19 multi-hit games, including a streak of five-straight, and had 10 multi-RBI games…his 13 home runs tied the single-season program record and his 53 runs scored ranks third…Lehigh career rankings: fourth in games played (190), third in at-bats (702), third in hits (218), tied for second in home runs (22), fifth in RBI (123) and fourth in runs scored (140)…named the Patriot League Player of the Week (5/9) in his final week in the Brown and White uniform as he hit .353 (6-for-17) with a .588 slugging percentage as he totaled seven RBI and five runs scored…named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

2016 (JUNIOR SEASON)
Strong junior campaign in which he earned second team All-Patriot League recognition and finished as the team leader in batting average (.333), on-base percentage (.419) and hits (70)…scored 49 runs while knocking in 36 RBI and smacking seven home runs…his 70 hits is tied for third on Lehigh’s single-season hits record list…tallied 20 multiple hit games and seven multiple RBI games…named to Patriot League All-Tournament team after batting .600 in Lehigh's three post-season games, going 9-for-15 at the plate with nine RBI, two three-run home runs, two doubles and four runs scored…recorded seven RBI in Lehigh's 18-5 game-two win in the semifinal series at Holy Cross (5/14), which marked a new Patriot League Tournament single game record…hit a pair of home runs in a win over Dartmouth (3/18)...named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

2015 (SOPHOMORE SEASON)
Strong sophomore season in which he ranked third on the team with a .303 batting average…started 53 games…ranked second on the team in RBI (35), doubles (14), sac bunts (7) and at bats (201)…recorded 17 multiple hit games and seven multiple RBI games…went 4-for-5 with six RBI and two doubles in a 17-5 win over Coppin State…hit 4-for-5 with an RBI and two doubles in a 5-4 win over Navy…went 2-for-5 with four RBI against Iona…earned Academic All-Patriot League recognition.

2014 (FRESHMAN SEASON)
Appeared in 32 games while making 29 starts in his solid freshman campaign…posted 13 RBI and nine runs scored while hitting .255 for the season…recorded six multiple hit games…went 2-for-4 with an RBI at Navy…recorded a hit, run scored and pair of RBI to lift Lehigh to an 8-2 win at Coppin State...named to the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll.

CAREER STATISTICS

	G-GS	AVG	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SLG%	OB%	SB
2014	32-29	.255	98	9	25	2	0	0	13	10	.276	.327	1
2015	54-53	.303	201	29	61	14	0	2	35	15	.403	.365	11
2016	54-54	.333	210	49	70	13	4	7	36	23	.533	.419	9
2017	50-50	.321	193	53	62	14	1	13	39	23	.606	397	9
TOTAL	190-186	.311	702	140	218	43	5	22	123	71	.480	.413	30

BEFORE LEHIGH
Out of Lehighton, Nalesnik earned varsity letters in four sports: baseball, football, basketball and wrestling. The three-time school MVP helped lead Lehighton to a District 11 championship in 2010, and is the school's all-time leader in hits (138), runs (112) and RBIs (113). He was a four-time Morning Call All-Area first team member, a three-time Mountain Valley Conference first team member, a Max Preps Freshman All-American and the Times News Player of the Year. Nalesnik earned a Scholar-Athlete award for the Mountain Valley Conference in baseball, basketball and football, which was the first time a student-athlete received the honor for three sports. Off the field, Nalesnik was the school valedictorian with a 4.0 grade point average.

GETTING TO KNOW JACEN
Nickname: Jace or Nales
Favorite Thing About Lehigh: The baseball team
Major & Why: Undecided
Favorite Place on Campus: The baseball field
Favorite Food: Chicken wings
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Musical Artist: Luke Bryan
Favorite Movie: Friday Night Lights
Favorite TV Show: Eureka
Favorite Website: ESPN.com
Favorite Pro Team: Washington Redskins
Favorite Athlete in Another Sport: Sidney Crosby
Hobbies: Fishing
Magazine Cover I'd Like to Be On: Sports Illustrated
Place I'd Like to Visit: Hawaii
Talent I'd Most Like to Have: Hit like Derek Jeter
Dream Job: Professional baseball player
If I Didn't Play Baseball, I Would Play: Football
If I Had $1 Billion, I Would: Buy my family and friends whatever they wanted, put a couple million in the bank and donate a lot.