Jake Miller Time: How senior Jake Miller committed to Fairleigh Dickinson University despite not being a Varsity starter

Then six-year-old Jake Miller laid down on his soft cushioned couch with popcorn in one hand and a remote in the other — he was watching a Royals game on his TV. Seeing third baseman Mike Moustakas hit 480-foot home runs and Catcher Salvador Perez throw out players attempting to steal had Jake completely entranced in the game. 

This was the moment playing professional baseball someday in the future first crossed his mind.

Now-senior Jake has completed one quintessential step in that process — committing to play Division 1 baseball at Fairleigh Dickinson University in New Jersey. 

Jake committed to FDU in August, but the process to get his commitment started over a year ago in July of 2022. He attended a baseball camp in New York where his level of play immediately struck an FDU grad assistant’s eye.

With a 60-yard dash of 6.86 seconds, arm velocity of 90 mph  and an exit bat velocity of 92 mph, it’s no surprise they had interest in him.

“I was ranked a top-three catcher at that camp,” Jake said. “The scout from FDU came up to me and said how much he liked my arm strength and hitting and told me to come check out the school.”

Although Jake is a Division 1 commit, he has only started one Varsity game in his career as a high school player. The reason for this being that the East team currently has five other college commits as of now at the D1 and JUCO levels. One of those commits is at his main position of catcher.

Jake tries not to focus too much on the fact that he doesn’t play much and more on how he can help the team in any way possible. He can be found playing the outfield whenever needed and running the bases as much as possible.

“I know I’m in a tough spot because of how good our team is and I know we’re going to win games even if I don’t play as much as I want,” Jake said. “That being said, I still want to win for my team.”

Jake stayed in contact on and off with FDU for 10 months until August when he had his official visit. It was then where he was truly astonished by the campus and what they had added from when he previously saw the campus back in October 2022.

“Everything was brand new from when I first saw the campus in October,” Jake said. “They had updated the weight room, it was twice the size of last time, they were building a whole new baseball field and even the dorms looked a little nicer.”

During his visit to FDU, coaches had offered Jake a scholarship to come play for them. It was instant relief and joy for Jake as he accepted the offer with zero hesitation. The first step towards his goal of playing professionally was in action.

“It always felt like this [FDU] was the right place,” Jake’s father Tim Miller said. “When that offer came I got choked up, he’s been underestimated and doubted by people he’s played for and played with for his whole life, so I think it was a nice validation for him.”

What drives Jake is the doubt and underestimation he’s faced ever since he began his baseball journey. From sophomore year until now Jake has always been doing something related to baseball. Whether that be a pitching program to grow arm strength, weight training in school or hitting the cages, he always stays busy.

“People would tell me constantly that I’m not going to play D1 baseball from friends to even coaches,” Jake said. “One time I asked my club coach if he thought I could play D1 and he just straight up told me no, and that just put a fire in me to prove him wrong.”

Jake’s club coach, Nathan Moore from Precision Baseball Club, can attest to the disciplined work ethic Jake has. Moore has been coaching him for the past two years as he’s played up with college freshmen and has seen nothing but focus and determination everyday.

“He’s easily in my top three favorite players I’ve coached,” Moore said. “Being a great competitor is one thing and being a great person is another thing, it’s hard to find both of those in today’s world, but that’s what he is.”

As for the future, Jake is already setting goals for when he steps on campus at FDU. He wants to play as a freshman and eventually get to the College World Series. Even though he believes the likelihood of these things happening are slim, it wouldn’t be the first time the odds were stacked against him.