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/ BaseballKozicky Concludes Career as One of Gopher Baseball's All-Time Greats
6/30/2020 8:52:00 AM | Baseball
All-time greats come about in all sorts of different ways. Gopher Baseball head coach John Anderson can attest to that.
It was March 3, 2017. Jordan Kozicky, then a redshirt freshman, stood in the right-handed hitter's batter's box at U.S. Bank Stadium and awaited an 11th inning offering against visiting Oral Roberts. Although he had already made a trio of pinch hit appearances in the young 2017 season, he was still in search of his first collegiate base hit.
As the pitch came in, Kozicky tracked it perfectly and connected. The ball rolled down the left field line as Kozicky raced around first and pulled into second base with a double. There it was – hit number one for a kid born and raised in Minneapolis; the first base knock in Maroon & Gold for a player who long refined his craft on local Twin Cities ball fields.
Although no one knew it at the time, that first hit would be followed by 166 more – a number made all the more extraordinary when considering the nature of Kozicky's presence in the Gopher lineup that day. As a walk-on, Kozicky chose to attend the University of Minnesota with no athletic scholarship to play baseball. By the time it was all said and done, the Minneapolis native evolved into a scholarship player with 621 career at bats, 167 hits, 278 total bases, 21 home runs, 42 doubles, 111 runs and 123 RBI.
"I remember the hit, 100%. I was so excited," said Kozicky. "It was a hard ground ball hit down the third baseline and it ended up coming up in a pretty big spot in the game. That was a pretty special and cool way to get your first career hit."
For a local player like Kozicky, playing baseball at Minnesota was a dream come true. His path to Siebert Field began the summer prior to his senior year of high school, during which then-assistant head coach Rob Fornasiere began actively recruiting him. It did not take long for Fornasiere to be wowed by the player he saw.
"The thing that struck me right off the bat was his versatility. When he was playing high school and Legion ball, he played every position on the field, including pitcher and catcher," said Fornasiere. "The second thing that stuck out for me was he just made winning plays. He's a winning player."
Several months later, Kozicky made an unofficial visit to campus and met the legendary Anderson for the very first time. By the end of the day, he had an offer to join the Gophers as a walk-on.
"Right then and there, I wanted to say, 'Absolutely. Sign me up.' But they were the ones who told me to actually sit on it for at least a day," said Kozicky. "The next morning, I remember calling [Fornasiere] pretty much right away and telling him, 'This is where I want to be. It's what I want to do. I didn't need to think about it. Sign me up.'"
In hindsight, Minnesota hit a home run that day, securing a commitment from a player who would go on to become one of the best to ever don the Maroon & Gold. But especially for a local Minneapolis kid, Kozicky's decision to bring his talents to the U was unprecedented, more or less.
"In my 33 years at Minnesota, we only actively recruited, successfully, one player out of the Minneapolis City Conference," said Fornasiere. "He's the only one."
And so the legend began. Kozicky officially started his Gopher career in the fall of 2016 as a walk-on, hoping to eventually play himself into a scholarship with his performance on the field. However, Kozicky would have to wait an extra year for a chance to prove himself, as he and Anderson decided shortly into the subsequent season that redshirting was the smartest plan of attack.
"It was a little hard to hear, but he knew best," said Kozicky. "Looking back, it was for the best. I went into the Northwoods League that summer and really developed."
As a redshirt freshman, Kozicky still faced several roadblocks to finding a legitimate role on the team. Terrin Vavra, now the No. 7 prospect in the Colorado Rockies organization, had a firm hold on the shortstop position. Third base was also spoken for by junior Micah Coffey, one of the best all-around players in the Big Ten Conference. Even with his positional versatility, Kozicky was facing an uphill climb to get his fair share of at bats in 2017.
Then, 15 days after his first collegiate hit against Oral Roberts, Kozicky got his chance when the Gophers were faced with an unfortunate reality: in the first game of a weekend series against Sacramento State, Coffey injured his ankle. The team was unsure whether or not he would be able to suit up for game two on March 18.
"I remember I was on the fence. Am I going to play for him? Is he going to play? And I ended up getting the call like an hour before the game and I was super jittery, super excited," said Kozicky. "I got my first career start and I played really well."
In his first start as a Gopher, Kozicky went 1-for-4 and drove in the first two runs of his career, although there would be 121 RBI still to come for the young slugger. Kozicky again performed well in game three to clinch the series, all the while playing pristine defense at third base.
"In that series, he made three or four of the best plays at third base I have ever seen a Gopher player make," said Fornasiere.
At that point, Kozicky knew he had a starting spot locked down for the extent of Coffey's injury. But even after his injured teammate returned to health, the Gophers moved their rising star to the outfield to keep his bat in the lineup. From that point forward, Kozicky became a mainstay in the Gopher lineup, starting 169 games over the course of the next three-and-a-half seasons.
"That whole season was basically me just playing as loose as I could, having as much fun as I could, because I knew that this was my opportunity to show what I had and I didn't have much to lose," said Kozicky. "From all that, it turned me into a permanent starter in the years to follow. That was kind of the progression of my career."
Kozicky finished his redshirt freshman campaign with a .325/.421/.476 batting line with four home runs, one triple, 11 doubles, 38 runs, 28 RBI and three stolen bases. His performance helped power the Gophers to a 36-21 record and a trip to the conference semi-finals. Perhaps most importantly, Kozicky's level of play reminded fans, teammates and coaches alike that the Minneapolis City Conference product was still attending college without the assistance of an athletic scholarship.
The following summer, Kozicky was alone in his apartment when he received a phone call from Anderson. The Gopher head coach briefly checked in with his player and then dropped the news Kozicky had been waiting nearly two years to hear: he would be receiving an athletic scholarship for the upcoming 2017-18 academic year.
"I remember getting off the call and I was a little emotional. I was like, 'Man, who would have thought that I would've ended up getting a scholarship?" said Kozicky. "When he called and when I first found out, it was honestly a really awesome day and I'll always remember that."
The next year, Kozicky would play a vital role in Minnesota's 2018 Big Ten Championship team that went on to host and sweep an NCAA Regional. Kozicky started 58 of the team's 59 games that season, even winning Big Ten Tournament MVP honors after batting .384 with three RBI and a run scored.
"When I look back on that year, it was just the most fun I've ever had playing baseball," said Kozicky. "Everyone was just so good on that team, that to find out that I was the Big Ten Tournament MVP, it was pretty special."
Over the course of the two seasons to follow, it would be rare to find a day where Kozicky's number seven was not penciled into the lineup. As he tallied up career numbers that already speak for themselves, he also evolved into a leader and one of the program's signature players.
"I think the thing that I always admired about him was the risk he was willing to take in the beginning. He wasn't offered a scholarship out of high school," said Fornasiere. "He developed into a leader as he got older, when his buddies were all gone. It's just really gratifying to see this transition from where he was at the beginning to where he was as a fifth-year senior."
Even for a story like this, one involving a local Twin Cities walk-on-turned-all-time-great, it would have been impossible for anyone to predict how it would all end. On the evening of March 11, the day that would soon be known as the last of the 2020 season, Kozicky found himself out of the lineup for the first time all year after tweaking his ankle in a win over Creighton the previous night.
Instead, freshman Drew Stahl took Kozicky's place at shortstop as the Gophers looked to complete a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays. In the sixth inning, which in retrospect appears to be nothing short of a miracle, Anderson inserted Kozicky as a pinch runner for Max Meyer. Kozicky stayed in the game in right field, logging one final at bat in Maroon & Gold as Minnesota defeated Creighton, 5-4.
By the end of the week, the 2020 season was over as the Big Ten and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions due to ongoing COVID-19 public health concerns. In a way, it was a poetic ending for Kozicky, someone who put his heart and soul into the program before earning an opportunity to actually start – someone who worked hard for two-plus years to earn a scholarship with his hometown school.
"I'm kind of glad it ended it a metaphorical way almost," said Kozicky. "It was the icing on the cake."
Kozicky leaves behind a Gopher Baseball legacy and list of career accomplishments that most players likely wish they could achieve a mere half of.
"How I want to be remembered is someone who was fortunate and happy to be able to play baseball as long as I did, and for my hometown school," said Kozicky. "I just hope, and I am pretty confident, that my teammates will remember me as a teammate that was always super upbeat and positive and fun to be around. I didn't really care about personal success and all that, I just wanted to keep on playing baseball and have fun with my team."
Anderson, having coached Kozicky and grown close with his star player over the course of his five-year career, emphasized just that. The numbers will always be there, but Kozicky's legacy will be best remembered for other reasons: his unique journey and the relationships built along the way.
"He was an unselfish leader, had a willingness to play any position on the diamond and his effort in the daily process to create the best version of himself was impressive," said Anderson. "He is prepared for the next 50 years of his life and I wish him all the best in the next part of his journey. I want to thank him for all he's done to make the Golden Gopher baseball family stronger."
Again, all-time greats are not all made the same. Some make their own luck and carve out their own piece of history, bit-by-bit. That is the Jordan Kozicky story.
"When I look back on my career, I'll think a lot about the lessons that [Anderson] has taught us and the memories off the field with my teammates," said Kozicky. "It's just a really special experience that is a lot bigger than baseball."
It was March 3, 2017. Jordan Kozicky, then a redshirt freshman, stood in the right-handed hitter's batter's box at U.S. Bank Stadium and awaited an 11th inning offering against visiting Oral Roberts. Although he had already made a trio of pinch hit appearances in the young 2017 season, he was still in search of his first collegiate base hit.
As the pitch came in, Kozicky tracked it perfectly and connected. The ball rolled down the left field line as Kozicky raced around first and pulled into second base with a double. There it was – hit number one for a kid born and raised in Minneapolis; the first base knock in Maroon & Gold for a player who long refined his craft on local Twin Cities ball fields.
Although no one knew it at the time, that first hit would be followed by 166 more – a number made all the more extraordinary when considering the nature of Kozicky's presence in the Gopher lineup that day. As a walk-on, Kozicky chose to attend the University of Minnesota with no athletic scholarship to play baseball. By the time it was all said and done, the Minneapolis native evolved into a scholarship player with 621 career at bats, 167 hits, 278 total bases, 21 home runs, 42 doubles, 111 runs and 123 RBI.
"I remember the hit, 100%. I was so excited," said Kozicky. "It was a hard ground ball hit down the third baseline and it ended up coming up in a pretty big spot in the game. That was a pretty special and cool way to get your first career hit."
Since you didn't get a Senior Day this year, your fellow #Gophers decided to celebrate you from afar.
— Minnesota Baseball (@GopherBaseball) June 29, 2020
Thank you for an incredible five years, @JKozicky! pic.twitter.com/03UcDiZpwN
For a local player like Kozicky, playing baseball at Minnesota was a dream come true. His path to Siebert Field began the summer prior to his senior year of high school, during which then-assistant head coach Rob Fornasiere began actively recruiting him. It did not take long for Fornasiere to be wowed by the player he saw.
"The thing that struck me right off the bat was his versatility. When he was playing high school and Legion ball, he played every position on the field, including pitcher and catcher," said Fornasiere. "The second thing that stuck out for me was he just made winning plays. He's a winning player."
Several months later, Kozicky made an unofficial visit to campus and met the legendary Anderson for the very first time. By the end of the day, he had an offer to join the Gophers as a walk-on.
"Right then and there, I wanted to say, 'Absolutely. Sign me up.' But they were the ones who told me to actually sit on it for at least a day," said Kozicky. "The next morning, I remember calling [Fornasiere] pretty much right away and telling him, 'This is where I want to be. It's what I want to do. I didn't need to think about it. Sign me up.'"
In hindsight, Minnesota hit a home run that day, securing a commitment from a player who would go on to become one of the best to ever don the Maroon & Gold. But especially for a local Minneapolis kid, Kozicky's decision to bring his talents to the U was unprecedented, more or less.
"In my 33 years at Minnesota, we only actively recruited, successfully, one player out of the Minneapolis City Conference," said Fornasiere. "He's the only one."
And so the legend began. Kozicky officially started his Gopher career in the fall of 2016 as a walk-on, hoping to eventually play himself into a scholarship with his performance on the field. However, Kozicky would have to wait an extra year for a chance to prove himself, as he and Anderson decided shortly into the subsequent season that redshirting was the smartest plan of attack.
"It was a little hard to hear, but he knew best," said Kozicky. "Looking back, it was for the best. I went into the Northwoods League that summer and really developed."
As a redshirt freshman, Kozicky still faced several roadblocks to finding a legitimate role on the team. Terrin Vavra, now the No. 7 prospect in the Colorado Rockies organization, had a firm hold on the shortstop position. Third base was also spoken for by junior Micah Coffey, one of the best all-around players in the Big Ten Conference. Even with his positional versatility, Kozicky was facing an uphill climb to get his fair share of at bats in 2017.
Then, 15 days after his first collegiate hit against Oral Roberts, Kozicky got his chance when the Gophers were faced with an unfortunate reality: in the first game of a weekend series against Sacramento State, Coffey injured his ankle. The team was unsure whether or not he would be able to suit up for game two on March 18.
"I remember I was on the fence. Am I going to play for him? Is he going to play? And I ended up getting the call like an hour before the game and I was super jittery, super excited," said Kozicky. "I got my first career start and I played really well."
In his first start as a Gopher, Kozicky went 1-for-4 and drove in the first two runs of his career, although there would be 121 RBI still to come for the young slugger. Kozicky again performed well in game three to clinch the series, all the while playing pristine defense at third base.
"In that series, he made three or four of the best plays at third base I have ever seen a Gopher player make," said Fornasiere.
At that point, Kozicky knew he had a starting spot locked down for the extent of Coffey's injury. But even after his injured teammate returned to health, the Gophers moved their rising star to the outfield to keep his bat in the lineup. From that point forward, Kozicky became a mainstay in the Gopher lineup, starting 169 games over the course of the next three-and-a-half seasons.
"That whole season was basically me just playing as loose as I could, having as much fun as I could, because I knew that this was my opportunity to show what I had and I didn't have much to lose," said Kozicky. "From all that, it turned me into a permanent starter in the years to follow. That was kind of the progression of my career."
Kozicky finished his redshirt freshman campaign with a .325/.421/.476 batting line with four home runs, one triple, 11 doubles, 38 runs, 28 RBI and three stolen bases. His performance helped power the Gophers to a 36-21 record and a trip to the conference semi-finals. Perhaps most importantly, Kozicky's level of play reminded fans, teammates and coaches alike that the Minneapolis City Conference product was still attending college without the assistance of an athletic scholarship.
The following summer, Kozicky was alone in his apartment when he received a phone call from Anderson. The Gopher head coach briefly checked in with his player and then dropped the news Kozicky had been waiting nearly two years to hear: he would be receiving an athletic scholarship for the upcoming 2017-18 academic year.
"I remember getting off the call and I was a little emotional. I was like, 'Man, who would have thought that I would've ended up getting a scholarship?" said Kozicky. "When he called and when I first found out, it was honestly a really awesome day and I'll always remember that."
The next year, Kozicky would play a vital role in Minnesota's 2018 Big Ten Championship team that went on to host and sweep an NCAA Regional. Kozicky started 58 of the team's 59 games that season, even winning Big Ten Tournament MVP honors after batting .384 with three RBI and a run scored.
"When I look back on that year, it was just the most fun I've ever had playing baseball," said Kozicky. "Everyone was just so good on that team, that to find out that I was the Big Ten Tournament MVP, it was pretty special."
Over the course of the two seasons to follow, it would be rare to find a day where Kozicky's number seven was not penciled into the lineup. As he tallied up career numbers that already speak for themselves, he also evolved into a leader and one of the program's signature players.
"I think the thing that I always admired about him was the risk he was willing to take in the beginning. He wasn't offered a scholarship out of high school," said Fornasiere. "He developed into a leader as he got older, when his buddies were all gone. It's just really gratifying to see this transition from where he was at the beginning to where he was as a fifth-year senior."
Even for a story like this, one involving a local Twin Cities walk-on-turned-all-time-great, it would have been impossible for anyone to predict how it would all end. On the evening of March 11, the day that would soon be known as the last of the 2020 season, Kozicky found himself out of the lineup for the first time all year after tweaking his ankle in a win over Creighton the previous night.
Instead, freshman Drew Stahl took Kozicky's place at shortstop as the Gophers looked to complete a two-game sweep of the Blue Jays. In the sixth inning, which in retrospect appears to be nothing short of a miracle, Anderson inserted Kozicky as a pinch runner for Max Meyer. Kozicky stayed in the game in right field, logging one final at bat in Maroon & Gold as Minnesota defeated Creighton, 5-4.
By the end of the week, the 2020 season was over as the Big Ten and NCAA announced they were ceasing competitions due to ongoing COVID-19 public health concerns. In a way, it was a poetic ending for Kozicky, someone who put his heart and soul into the program before earning an opportunity to actually start – someone who worked hard for two-plus years to earn a scholarship with his hometown school.
"I'm kind of glad it ended it a metaphorical way almost," said Kozicky. "It was the icing on the cake."
Kozicky leaves behind a Gopher Baseball legacy and list of career accomplishments that most players likely wish they could achieve a mere half of.
"How I want to be remembered is someone who was fortunate and happy to be able to play baseball as long as I did, and for my hometown school," said Kozicky. "I just hope, and I am pretty confident, that my teammates will remember me as a teammate that was always super upbeat and positive and fun to be around. I didn't really care about personal success and all that, I just wanted to keep on playing baseball and have fun with my team."
Anderson, having coached Kozicky and grown close with his star player over the course of his five-year career, emphasized just that. The numbers will always be there, but Kozicky's legacy will be best remembered for other reasons: his unique journey and the relationships built along the way.
"He was an unselfish leader, had a willingness to play any position on the diamond and his effort in the daily process to create the best version of himself was impressive," said Anderson. "He is prepared for the next 50 years of his life and I wish him all the best in the next part of his journey. I want to thank him for all he's done to make the Golden Gopher baseball family stronger."
Again, all-time greats are not all made the same. Some make their own luck and carve out their own piece of history, bit-by-bit. That is the Jordan Kozicky story.
"When I look back on my career, I'll think a lot about the lessons that [Anderson] has taught us and the memories off the field with my teammates," said Kozicky. "It's just a really special experience that is a lot bigger than baseball."
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