The Michigan Man
by Sam Weiderhaft
Before being selected in the third round of the 2020 MLB Draft, Jordan Nwogu was a football player. A star defensive end at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Nwogu had been offered a scholarship by Eastern Michigan and Kent State to play football.
He chose to stay at home and attend one of the most storied programs in all of college football, the University of Michigan; but not to play football.
With an academic scholarship in his back pocket, Nwogu walked on to the Wolverines’ baseball team in the fall of 2017 and was nearly cut. Through the spring season, Nwogu completely turned things around as he turned into an All-Big Ten Second Team Selection with a .349 average and six home runs.
“I would have never figured out that baseball is something I wanted to do with my life if it wasn’t for the opportunity at Michigan,” Nwogu said. “I figured out that fall when I started getting better than I have what it takes.”
The Ann Arbor native would go on to have a storied career for the maize and blue. A career .334 hitter, Nwogu crushed 20 home runs in three seasons while also being named to the All-Big Ten First Team following his sophomore campaign in 2019.
That season, the Wolverines shocked the college baseball world by upsetting the top-ranked UCLA Bruins in the Super Regional on the way to a College World Series Finals appearance against Vanderbilt. Nwogu was the leadoff batter and would lead the team with a .557 slugging percentage and a .435 on-base percentage.
“That was definitely the most fun I’ve had playing baseball,” Nwogu said. “We had talent, but nobody expected us to do what we did. It had a lot to do with how we bonded and how well Coach (Erik) Bakich got us to believe in the right things.”
The underdog story would come to an end as the Wolverines fell 8-2 in the third and final game to the Commodores to end the series.
After his 2020 season was cut short, Nwogu turned his eyes toward the 2020 MLB Draft. He had a zoom call with the Cubs’ front office but had also been in contact with other teams leading up to the draft.
“They seemed to really like me at that point, but I wasn’t thinking ‘the Cubs are going to pick me,’” Nwogu said. “There were a couple of other teams that showed more interest before.”
Nwogu heard his name called in the third round as the 88th overall pick to the Cubs. He was sent to Myrtle Beach for the 2021 season to begin his professional career.
Out of the gate, Nwogu struggled in Myrtle Beach. He hit just .143 in the first month of the year with 17 strikeouts in 28 at-bats, with a sting on the injured list sandwiched in the middle, causing him to miss 13 games.
Things didn’t pick up much in June, as Nwogu hit .150 with just nine hits in 60 at-bats.
“Mentally, I’ve gotten close to feeling hopeless when you can’t figure it out,” Nwogu said. “When you’re supposed to be this good player and you’re just not doing it, you don’t know what to do.”
As the month turned to July and the sun heated up the beach, so did Nwogu’s bat. He smashed two home runs in the series at Augusta to begin the month and hit another one at home against Columbia. Through his first 13 games in July, he’s brought in a team-leading 11 RBIs while batting .250 for the month. While his performance has improved, Nwogu has stressed the importance of keeping a strong mentality.
“You can go in with a mindset thinking ‘oh my life sucks, I suck at baseball, this and that,’” Nwogu said. “Or you can go in thinking that I have another day to get better, another day to improve.”
His increase in production has caught the eye of Pelicans hitting coach Dan Puente, who quickly thought of Nwogu as the player he’s seen the most improvement from throughout the season.
“The progress he’s made on the fastball and his swing path has been tremendous,” Puente remarked. “I’ve been happy with the progress he’s made in the last two weeks or so.”
Nwogu has stated that his goal isn’t to be a Minor League All-Star, it’s to make the big leagues.
“Everything I’m doing now, no matter if I’m struggling or doing well, all that is going to help,” Nwogu said.
With his bat improving, Nwogu remembers what it took for him to get here. From his baseball career almost ending during his freshman year to a staple in the Myrtle Beach lineup each night, with a bright future ahead.
Read more feature stories in our Beachbound & Down Blog linked below.
