Jon Jay to Headline 2019 First Pitch Banquet
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – World Series champion and University of Miami baseball All-American Jon Jay will headline the 2019 First Pitch Banquet on Feb. 8, head coach Gino DiMare announced.
The banquet will take place in the University of Miami Fieldhouse adjacent to the Watsco Center on campus. A cocktail reception will be held at 6 p.m., while the First Pitch Banquet is set to begin at 7 p.m.
“I am excited to announce that Jon Jay will be our First Pitch Speaker for our 2019 banquet,” DiMare said. “I can’t think of anyone that represents the University of Miami baseball program better than Jon. He is the perfect example of what a Hurricane baseball player is all about both on and off the field.”
A Miami native, Jay starred at Christopher Columbus High School and helped the Explorers win the 2003 Class 6A state championship before a standout career with the Hurricanes from 2004-06. Jay produced one of the best freshman seasons in Miami history in 2004, earning Freshman All-America honors by Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America, and was selected for the All-Tournament teams of both the Atlantic Regional and College World Series. Jay was first-team All-ACC and third-team All-America after leading the Canes with a .408 batting average as a sophomore.
In 2006, as team captain, he turned in another stellar performance, leading the team with a .361 batting average, 31 stolen bases, 77 runs scored and a .490 on-base percentage. Once again, he was selected first-team All-ACC, second-team All-American by Baseball America and was voted UM’s Most Valuable Player. For his UM career, Jon has the fourth-highest batting average (.378) and the fifth-highest hit total (254). He also had two 17-game hitting streaks, both listed in the top ten in school history.
Selected in the second round (74th overall) by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 MLB Draft, Jay made his big league debut in 2010 and was a valuable member of the Cardinals’ 2011 World Championship team. He has also played with the San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs, Kansas City Royals and Arizona Diamondbacks. A 2016 inductee to the UM Sports Hall of Fame, Jay will begin his tenth year in Major League Baseball in 2019.
Ticket information for the First Pitch Banquet are available for purchase at https://gocan.es/2019FirstPitchBanquet.
