Memphis Tigers RHP/INF Jake Curtis spoke about the leaders in the Tigers locker room. Curtis is a Memphis legacy, as his father and uncle suited up for the Tigers back in their colligate days.
Curtis started his college career at Lincoln Land Community College in Springfield, Illinois. While in Springfield, he boasted a .184 batting average alongside a 2.86 ERA. Since coming to Memphis, he is now coming off a season where he had a .266 average at the plate and a 2.60 ERA on the mound.
He has already had a few accolades under his belt throughout his college career including: Rawlings Juco All-American 2B, MWAC Player of the year, and Region 24 player of the year.
This is Cutris’ second season with the Tigers. His younger brother is expected to join the team next season. He has had a short stint with Memphis so far, but he already been very vocal on his leadership roles within the program.
During his tenure, Curtis has already had multiple head coaches and seen some roster shakeups. He is very optimistic about this season’s culture behind the scenes.
“It means a lot to have a coach that always has our back and we have felt that since day one,” Curtis said. “It’s good to see that we are headed in the right direction.”
Baseball can be a very individualist sport, but a team must have a strong sense of leadership behind the scenes.
Curtis has been a leader during his time with the Tigers. He said that the entire senior class has adopted a leadership role on the team and is trying to teach the younger guys.
“It is big to have a leader,” Curtis said. “As for this team, we don’t have an individual leader, we have multiple. Really it is the senior class that has been here, people that have been here even longer than me. They’ve been around it and we understand what skip wants from us, and that makes it a lot easier.”
He added that accountability is key to his role as a leader on the team because everyone has to feel responsible for their actions.
“Obviously, seniors are going to make mistakes too, so that’s why we got a lot of leaders,” Curtis said. “The good thing about this team is that we’ll hold each other accountable.”
This is also Coach Matt Riser’s first season with the Tigers and his seniors have had as many as three head coaches during their time at Memphis.
“They have shown that even if with their third head coach and the third system, they have been very selfless,” Riser said. “Tell me what to do and tell me where to go and I will do that to the best of my abilities.”
Even though it is only the beginning of his second season with the university, Curtis has adapted to his leadership well and takes pride in it. He and the rest of the senior class have gained these roles and are embracing them.
“I just want to make a difference and put this program in the direction that we want and get us back on the winning page,” Curtis said.
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