In mid-March, after only 14 games played, Hofstra baseball head coach John Russo informed his team that they would not finish their 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. At that moment, two of the Pride’s biggest stars were left feeling uncertain about the future of their Hofstra baseball careers.
Starting pitcher Jack Jett and infielder Rob Weissheier were both seniors at the time, hoping to wrap up their stellar college baseball careers on a positive note. Jett was carrying a 3.97 ERA through his first three starts of the 2020 season and Weissheier was raking with a .361 batting average and one home run in nine games played. But despite their strong stats, the team as a whole struggled to put wins together, sitting at 4-10 at the time of the season’s cancellation.
“It was definitely weird because it wasn’t only a baseball thing, it was a world thing too when it happened,” Jett said. “I didn’t know exactly how to take it all in. When we got the call and had a team meeting, our hope was that the season would start back up in six weeks or something like that. But as we all went home and everything kept getting pushed back more, it slowly seeped in that I may never play Hofstra baseball again.”
The season ended with a bitter taste for Jett and Weissheier. They knew their team’s potential despite their record, but they never got the chance to right the ship after a rough start to the year. And after its abrupt end, they thought they would never get that chance again.
However, shortly after the season’s end, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) answered the prayers of millions of college athletes around the country and granted an extra year of eligibility.
“It was definitely a crazy feeling because we kept getting told that we were getting pushed back another two weeks,” Weissheier said. “Then one day they told us they canceled the whole championship of the NCAA, so then it really hit me that that could have been my last Hofstra game. But then a few days later we were lucky: They said everyone would get another year back.”
Although it was tough, both players spent the offseason putting baseball on the side and focused on their classes as their senior years concluded.
“[Weissheier] and I have been athletes all our lives, so it was pretty hard to end like that,” Jett said. “But after that I started focusing more on my classes so we can graduate. Basically, we were waiting around to see if they were going to give seniors another year, so I know that was a big drive for me to finish my classes and do well just in case I could come back.”
Both Jett and Weissheier never hesitated once they found out the news from the NCAA and were immediately excited to get back to work. It was time for two of Hofstra’s best players from the past four years to finish off on the right note.
“I definitely knew I was coming back here,” Weissheier said. “I signed up to register for an MBA program before I even got into contact with [head coach] Russo.”
It was a long road back onto the field for the entire team after not being able to play for eight months, but on Monday, October 12, the Pride finally began practicing. For Jett and Weissheier, the feeling of being back with their teammates for one more year overwhelmed them with joy.
“I think everyone was really excited and restless to get back,” Jett said. “The first day of practice, it wasn’t a full team practice because we aren’t cleared yet for full team practices, but it was like Christmas. Just being on the baseball field made me super excited, especially after everything we went through in the spring and summer, so it was a good feeling for sure.”
While being back on the field is a good sign for Hofstra baseball, much of the 2021 season is still up in the air. However, Jett and Weissheier are confident they will be able to play close to a full season.
“I’ve heard a few things about this season since quarantine started,” Jett said. “I know they’ve been manipulating schedules and different things like travel advisories and closer-to-home schedules, but I don’t know the exact details and ins and outs of it. I do know it’s going to be different, and from what I’ve heard, we’re still signed up for most of the same games and to play close to 50 games, so that is exciting.”
Despite their 4-10 record a year ago, the Pride is coming off one of their best offensive seasons in recent memory. Hofstra led the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) with a .302 team batting average, .399 on-base percentage and a .466 slugging percentage. They will enter the spring of 2021 with many players returning, including Weissheier, who has been one of their best power hitters since he joined the team.
“Our expectation is to be better than last year,” Weissheier said. “Yes, what we did last year was great, but we want to be the best, we want to work off last year. We have eight starters returning, we’ve got some good freshman bats coming in and we want to show we can compete with every other school.”
The lineup will once again be filled with talent, and Weissheier will most likely be their main power hitter. With 17 career home runs for the Pride, including a team-leading eight in 2019, he is ready for another chance to compete.
As far as pitching, Jett will lead a staff looking to rebound from a forgettable 2019 season. The Pride’s rotation ranked last in the CAA with a 7.26 team ERA, which resulted in many winnable games being lost.
“I’m extremely confident in our guys this year,” Jett said. “The offense is getting a bunch of new guys that are really good and I think the pitching staff is getting even more.”
“Another year for myself, [Jimmy] Joyce and [Ryan] Rue will be really good and I think it’s going to be a very fun year. Over the past two weeks, it’s been really exciting to see some of the new guys throwing on the mound. They’re gonna help us a lot and fill a lot of those gaps.”
Jett has been one of the Pride’s most reliable starting pitchers since he transferred in from Old Dominion University in 2019. He ended his first season at Hofstra with a 1.26 ERA over his last three starts and carried a 3.97 ERA in the shortened 2020 season. Now, Jett will look to finish off his collegiate career strong once again with a new group of arms behind him.
The year 2020 was filled with heartbreak for the Hofstra Pride, especially for Jett and Weissheier. And after not knowing whether or not they had played their final college baseball game, the two stars will be back, ready to compete for a CAA title with a very talented team around them, in 2021.
Photo Courtesy of Hofstra Athletics
