Connor Morehouse, senior data science and math major, began his career at William Jewell College as a physics and math major.  He began as a pitcher on the Jewell baseball team but quickly changed to catcher – a position he did before he came to college.  

Morehouse has been playing baseball since he was 6-years-old, mostly as a catcher. For him, baseball has not just acted as a sport in his life. 

“Baseball is incredibly important because it’s foundational on aspects like scheduling, it also provides an opportunity to learn about yourself and grow in a significantly safer environment than you would in the real world,” said Morehouse.

That growth continued when Morehouse came to Jewell – not only as an athlete but as a student and person. Morehouse credits the baseball team and the relationships he’s made with those on the team for helping him throughout his journey.

“Unsurprisingly, it’s a tight-knit group of people and anytime you have that it can be incredibly fun,” Morehouse said. “The amount of support and time you spent with people and the relationships that you build are incredibly valuable. That’s by far my favorite part.”

It was the chance to play baseball while also gaining a high-caliber academic education that originally drew Morehouse to the College. Beyond those aspects of his time here, Morehouse appreciates Jewell for how it has helped him become a well-rounded person. He says he’s been able to explore more parts of his personality and interests at Jewell than he would have elsewhere. 

“My favorite part of Jewell has definitely been it’s been an environment that allowed me to evolve and pushed me to do things that I probably wouldn’t have done otherwise,” said Morehouse. “The ability, opportunity and the facilitating of me evolving as a person is what I appreciate most.”

After graduation, Morehouse plans to pursue a master’s in data science and statistics. He has two more years of eligibility to play baseball and wants to use that to continue the sport as he pursues his post-grad degree. 

“Academics was a huge part of my decision. I plan to go into engineering post graduate, and Jewell has great academics. In terms of baseball I loved the team of guys. They are all really close, and the coaches were awesome, ” he said.

Morehouse has faced not only rigorous academics here at Jewell but endured the many challenges of Division II baseball.

“The most difficult thing about Cardinal baseball is definitely the running. I was surprised when I came here because the conditioning was nothing like I’d expected,” he said.

Some of his personal goals involve the execution of throwing strikes and avoiding walking players. His calm and collected attitude and perseverance allow him to stay focused. He believes that every player’s role is important and identifies with the team hallmark of hustle.

“I think it’s really cool that everyone is treated equally in the sense that no one can get away with not hustling. It doesn’t matter if you’re a senior. You’re expected to hustle as much as, say, a freshman,” Morehouse said.

Morehouse discussed the one thing that ultimately defines Jewell Baseball.

“The guys and their commitment and the close knit community that the team has is really what makes Jewell Baseball authentic. Without that I don’t think that we would have the success that we had in the spring season or will have for this upcoming fall season,” he said.

Photo courtesy of Nevada Preps