Advertisement
baseball Edit

Willeford’s maturation process comes full circle in his final year

Months before Jackson Willeford even arrived at Arizona State as a redshirt senior infielder, a podcast symbolized military aspirations that almost kept him from stepping foot on a baseball diamond again.

Jocko Willink is a former Navy SEAL commander who hosts a podcast where he discusses topics like war, leadership and dealing with adversity. Willeford discovered the “Jocko Podcast” when Willink guest-appeared on another podcast and immediately became enamored with it. He enjoyed Willink’s discussions about the military because he planned on enlisting in the Navy before continuing his baseball career became an option.

Then he began to appreciate more of Willink’s lessons. He realized how applicable they were and how small tasks like making one’s bed in the morning reflect organization in other areas of life.

“Navy SEALs go through some of the toughest training on the planet,” Willeford said. “If you get a guy who’s gone through it all, done multiple deployments in Iraq and being able to listen to what he has to say about life and handles his adversity, it’s something that has a lot of credibility behind it.”

His mother, Debbie Willeford, admittedly didn’t want him going into the military and moving away. And she wasn’t sure she’d relate to the podcast, either.

But she did notice a positive change in her son during his year away from baseball in 2016. She said some of it was probably due to a job loading bays of hay and feed into trucks at Elston Hay and Grain, an animal supply store in his hometown of Ramona, California.

That was surely some of it. Then Jackson introduced her to the podcast.

“Of course, then everything with Jackson fell into place and I could understand his change in attitude and work ethic,” Debbie Willeford said. “It’s totally changed my life too. I work out to it. You listen to it and it grows on you and then you realize how practical it is.”

Willeford planned on enlisting in September 2016. He never thought the work ethic he was developing would pay off on a baseball field.

Until an unlikely scenario played out.

Over this past summer, ASU assistant coach Ben Greenspan — who spearheads much of the program’s recruiting efforts — heard about Willeford through a UC Irvine assistant coach. That coach told Greenspan that Willeford was originally committed to play at UC Irvine, but never showed up.

Greenspan contacted Willeford shortly after and the two met at Ramona High School, Willeford’s alma mater. Willeford’s brother hit him ground balls and threw him batting practice.

“When he came out, the way I looked at it was trying to give it everything I have, and if they don’t like it, then I’ll continue with what I was planning on doing,” Willeford said. “If they do, then awesome.”

Then, Greenspan gave Willeford the chance to tell him about his past when the two talked for an hour in the dugout following the workout.

His freshman year at Arizona in 2012 was cut short when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament. He transferred, had surgery and redshirted the next year. After playing the next season at Cypress Community College in California, the UC Irvine situation occurred.

He said he wishes he handled it differently, but it was over. And when he and Greenspan talked in that Ramona dugout, there was no time for Willeford to be hung up over his past.

“It was almost a relief for him to be open and completely honest with this guy who didn’t have to come out,” Debbie said. “It was just out of the blue. …It was just this crazy drop from the sky. (Greenspan) gave (Jackson) the chance to open up to him.”

However, Willeford’s bumpy collegiate career almost never happened. He was selected in the 12th round of the 2012 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals out of high school. He eventually chose school over making immediate money.

One may think that choice backfired because of the way the last four years played out, but not his mother. Debbie Willeford said choosing college and powering through the hardships it brought made him a different person. It forced him into a maturation process he would have mistakenly avoided if he’d signed with the Royals.

“I think if he had taken his choice and (signed), he would be a completely different person today,” Debbie Willeford said. “Whatever you’re dealt with, it’s what you do with it. Along the way, he wouldn’t have had to make choices to work harder.”

Even after Willeford received the ASU offer, playing baseball again was still far-fetched. Not because of his ability, but because of his academics.

If a college baseball player attends a four-year university before transferring to a junior college as Willeford did, he cannot play at another four-year program until he receives his associate degree.

Willeford had completed all the credits for his associate degree at Cypress, but he didn’t yet have the degree itself. He said many people he talked to told him the chances of him playing Division I baseball again were slim.

It took about a month, but he eventually ironed out the situation with Cypress. Alas, he was ready to play one final year of college baseball.

“Stuff like this doesn’t happen a lot,” Willeford said. “If you take a year off, you’re done.”

ASU head coach Tracy Smith said Willeford’s situation is difficult. Not only is he trying to make an impact with the program in just one year, but he is trying to do so having not played organized baseball in a year.

Despite the circumstances, Willeford’s work ethic caught Smith’s eye from day one.

“He plays hard all the time,” Smith said. “I think he’s got a lot more range there defensively than I think we’ve had…I think we’re better when he’s on the diamond.

“How you make the impression is how you go about your work and I don’t think anybody can question his work ethic on a daily basis.”

Willeford suffered a hamstring injury before the season and missed the first six games. He made his ASU debut on Feb. 26 at second base, his first game action since 2015. However, the adjustment period hasn’t been easy as he is hitting just .207 with three RBIs and has three errors in 12 games.

But baseball is a sport he loves. Debbie Willeford said Jackson would often stay out late on Saturdays, come home early Sunday morning and then head to Elston’s. He never called in sick to a job he didn’t particularly enjoy, so it makes sense that he puts extra effort into one he does enjoy.

Greenspan regularly arrives at Phoenix Municipal Stadium at 8:30 a.m. and usually sees Willeford’s moped sitting in the parking lot. When Greenspan enters the facility, he may find Willeford hanging out, receiving treatment or even eating cereal in the kitchen. Willeford’s constant enthusiasm is indicative of how grateful he is to receive one last opportunity playing college baseball.

“We joke that he lives in the locker room because he’s always here,” Greenspan said.

Willeford still plans to enlist in the Navy if baseball doesn’t work out. His interest hasn’t changed one bit. But he decided to play baseball again because he didn’t want to look back in 10-15 years and regret not giving the sport one final try.

The man who is now finishing his collegiate career with one of the nation’s most historic programs is much-transformed from the kid who once had scouts from 28 of 30 MLB teams in his Southern California home trying to snatch his youth before he could mature.

He experienced many obstacles before receiving this opportunity. He has seen firsthand how fleeting and delicate a college baseball career can be. He went from having the opportunity to go pro to not even playing baseball in four years.

“Being able to look back and reflect at everything that’s happened over the past four and a half, five years, it’s helped me be a better person,” Willeford said. “It’s given me a better outlook in life just knowing there are going to be hard times in life, it’s just how you’re going to look at those hard times and get past it. I don’t want to just roll over and stop.”

Advertisement