Princeton University
After his sophomore season, Jason Koonin ’99 and his Princeton Baseball teammates were faced with a different reality.
New head coach Scott Bradley, hired at the dawn of summer in 1997, then 37 years old and less than five years removed from his final Major League Baseball game with the Cincinnati Reds.
Bradley was replacing Tom O’Connell, who retired after 17 seasons and 323 victories. O’Connell won two EIBL titles and one Ivy League crown during his time with Princeton.
“They couldn’t have been more different,” said Jason about the two coaches. “Coach O’Connell was very old school, into discipline and it was a bit like the military. That was difficult for a lot of players, many of which would quit every year. Frankly at one point, I wanted to quit.”
“Coach Bradley came in and it was completely different,” said Jason. “In some ways, he was almost too positive, and we just weren’t used to it. He was more of a player’s coach and very supportive of the players.”
“The first thing that stood out about Jason was that he was strong, athletic, could really run,” Bradley, in his 27th year as the Robert H.B. Baldwin ’42 Head Coach of Baseball, said.
It’s a good thing he didn’t quit.
The left-handed hitting outfielder was in the lineup every day for Bradley and finished his career with a .287 average, 70 runs, 100 hits and 36 stolen bases, tied for sixth all-time in Princeton history in addition to three Gehrig Division titles.
The two casually stayed in touch after Koonin graduated as Jason relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina and eventually Winston-Salem.
Koonin has three kids, Jake, William, and Tyler. After spending time coaching Little League, Jason brought the boys to Princeton games when the team would make its annual Spring Break trips.
“I remember Jake and his brothers running around the stadium at UNC Greensboro,” said Bradley.
As Jake got into high school, he was a three-sport athlete at Mount Tabor. He played basketball and baseball for three years before eventually moving on to track and baseball as a senior. During his time, Jake helped set the school record for the 4x200m squad.
It was busy spring for Jake as a senior. He did his track workout during his free period and then would go to baseball practice after school. If there was a track meet, he’d go from practice just beyond the right field fence where the track was located and then back to practice.
The recruiting process for Jake started after his freshman year. He had his list of schools with Princeton at the top.
“I can remember getting an email from Jake that he was interested in Princeton,” said Bradley. “He never said he was Jason’s son so I emailed him back when I could and said Jake, I know who you are.”
Heading into his sophomore season, Jake went to camp at Princeton and stood out to Bradley.
“He just handled himself really well,” said Bradley. He was athletic, you knew he would get stronger, and I loved the way he handled his business. As we sort of followed him the next year, it became obvious he was someone we wanted to have here.”
Jake got an offer from Bradley, and it was an easy decision for him. He, like his father, was going to be a Princeton Tiger.
“It was a bit comforting just knowing the environment that he’d be going into,” said Jason about Jake’s commitment to Princeton. “As it has unfolded, it’s been a bit surreal to have your son play not only for the same school, but for the same coach.”
Was there any pressure from Dad to go to the same school?
“He never once pressured me into this decision,” said Jake. “Even when I committed a month into my junior year, he thought I should wait and not rush the process. He didn’t make it feel like he was pressuring the university onto me. I think my parents were helpful in the decision. Even though he went here, I think I made the decision on my own.”
The adjustment academically to college was not bad for Jake. His parents always made sure to put him the best schools and challenged him to take the hardest classes.
“This helped me because in high school, it was up to me to do the work,” said Jake. “I had the work ethic to do it myself and with my dad going to Princeton and my mom going to North Carolina, they knew what it took to do well in school.”
“I think one of the things that makes him fairly unique is how competitive he is,” said Jason Koonin about Jake’s work ethic. “I think most parents find themselves having to push their kids to focus on their academics and their grades. I can remember trying to convince Jake to not put in so much work in his academics because he was burning the candle at both ends with baseball and schoolwork.”
The biggest adjustment for Jake was the speed of the game. As the only incoming freshman that was an infielder, it was tough for him to break through with the number of upperclassmen in the infield.
Jake got off to an outstanding start during his freshman campaign, producing two hits in a contest at Georgia and hitting two home runs at Duke, but it wasn’t always so easy during his first season at Princeton.
“I hit two home runs at Duke with a lot of family and friends there,” said Jake. “One week later I had the biggest slump of my life. There wasn’t one specific moment, but the Spring Break week humbled me. It really puts it into perspective and made me grateful for starting as a freshman.”
Jake would then get hurt, and Noah Granet stepped in at second base and finished the season as Honorable Mention All-Ivy. That meant there was not a lot of time after he returned from injury.
“I think the whole season really made me think more about the game,” said Jake. “I have tried to not take any game for granted because you never know when the last one will be. The main thing is just to have fun. No matter how bad of a game I have, I would rather have that than be hurt and not be able to play.”
“Jake didn’t play that much at the end, but we were able to give him a lot of good experience,” said Bradley. “He went away and played in a good collegiate summer league down in the Carolinas. When we came back, we knew that he was going to be a guy that was going to hit in the middle of our lineup and somebody that we were going to really count on to produce for us this year.”
Koonin has been outstanding for Princeton in 2024, recording hits in 35 of the team’s 41 contests including a current 17-game hitting streak. He leads the team in hitting (.329), RBI (40), total bases (80), slugging percentage (.537) and stolen bases (11).
“The biggest thing for all the players is you can’t show it in spurts, you got to be a consistent factor in the lineup,” said Bradley about Koonin this season. “I think that the next big thing for him will be to really be able to do a better job of hitting the ball to all fields. He’s been terrific for so far this year.”
It’s not lost on Bradley about how there are two Koonins that have had major impacts during his time as coach of Princeton Baseball.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of parents that wouldn’t want their kids to follow in their footsteps and get a Princeton degree,” said Bradley. “The fact that the baseball played into it means we’ve done things right. More important than wins and losses is that you try to treat the kids the right way, give them an experience and the opportunity to develop in all areas of their life. It’s full circle, but it means quite a bit that I would have an opportunity to coach both a father and son.”
New head coach Scott Bradley, hired at the dawn of summer in 1997, then 37 years old and less than five years removed from his final Major League Baseball game with the Cincinnati Reds.
Bradley was replacing Tom O’Connell, who retired after 17 seasons and 323 victories. O’Connell won two EIBL titles and one Ivy League crown during his time with Princeton.
“They couldn’t have been more different,” said Jason about the two coaches. “Coach O’Connell was very old school, into discipline and it was a bit like the military. That was difficult for a lot of players, many of which would quit every year. Frankly at one point, I wanted to quit.”
“Coach Bradley came in and it was completely different,” said Jason. “In some ways, he was almost too positive, and we just weren’t used to it. He was more of a player’s coach and very supportive of the players.”
“The first thing that stood out about Jason was that he was strong, athletic, could really run,” Bradley, in his 27th year as the Robert H.B. Baldwin ’42 Head Coach of Baseball, said.
It’s a good thing he didn’t quit.
The left-handed hitting outfielder was in the lineup every day for Bradley and finished his career with a .287 average, 70 runs, 100 hits and 36 stolen bases, tied for sixth all-time in Princeton history in addition to three Gehrig Division titles.
The two casually stayed in touch after Koonin graduated as Jason relocated to Charlotte, North Carolina and eventually Winston-Salem.
Koonin has three kids, Jake, William, and Tyler. After spending time coaching Little League, Jason brought the boys to Princeton games when the team would make its annual Spring Break trips.
“I remember Jake and his brothers running around the stadium at UNC Greensboro,” said Bradley.
As Jake got into high school, he was a three-sport athlete at Mount Tabor. He played basketball and baseball for three years before eventually moving on to track and baseball as a senior. During his time, Jake helped set the school record for the 4x200m squad.
It was busy spring for Jake as a senior. He did his track workout during his free period and then would go to baseball practice after school. If there was a track meet, he’d go from practice just beyond the right field fence where the track was located and then back to practice.
The recruiting process for Jake started after his freshman year. He had his list of schools with Princeton at the top.
“I can remember getting an email from Jake that he was interested in Princeton,” said Bradley. “He never said he was Jason’s son so I emailed him back when I could and said Jake, I know who you are.”
Heading into his sophomore season, Jake went to camp at Princeton and stood out to Bradley.
“He just handled himself really well,” said Bradley. He was athletic, you knew he would get stronger, and I loved the way he handled his business. As we sort of followed him the next year, it became obvious he was someone we wanted to have here.”
Jake got an offer from Bradley, and it was an easy decision for him. He, like his father, was going to be a Princeton Tiger.
“It was a bit comforting just knowing the environment that he’d be going into,” said Jason about Jake’s commitment to Princeton. “As it has unfolded, it’s been a bit surreal to have your son play not only for the same school, but for the same coach.”
Was there any pressure from Dad to go to the same school?
“He never once pressured me into this decision,” said Jake. “Even when I committed a month into my junior year, he thought I should wait and not rush the process. He didn’t make it feel like he was pressuring the university onto me. I think my parents were helpful in the decision. Even though he went here, I think I made the decision on my own.”
The adjustment academically to college was not bad for Jake. His parents always made sure to put him the best schools and challenged him to take the hardest classes.
“This helped me because in high school, it was up to me to do the work,” said Jake. “I had the work ethic to do it myself and with my dad going to Princeton and my mom going to North Carolina, they knew what it took to do well in school.”
“I think one of the things that makes him fairly unique is how competitive he is,” said Jason Koonin about Jake’s work ethic. “I think most parents find themselves having to push their kids to focus on their academics and their grades. I can remember trying to convince Jake to not put in so much work in his academics because he was burning the candle at both ends with baseball and schoolwork.”
The biggest adjustment for Jake was the speed of the game. As the only incoming freshman that was an infielder, it was tough for him to break through with the number of upperclassmen in the infield.
Jake got off to an outstanding start during his freshman campaign, producing two hits in a contest at Georgia and hitting two home runs at Duke, but it wasn’t always so easy during his first season at Princeton.
“I hit two home runs at Duke with a lot of family and friends there,” said Jake. “One week later I had the biggest slump of my life. There wasn’t one specific moment, but the Spring Break week humbled me. It really puts it into perspective and made me grateful for starting as a freshman.”
Jake would then get hurt, and Noah Granet stepped in at second base and finished the season as Honorable Mention All-Ivy. That meant there was not a lot of time after he returned from injury.
“I think the whole season really made me think more about the game,” said Jake. “I have tried to not take any game for granted because you never know when the last one will be. The main thing is just to have fun. No matter how bad of a game I have, I would rather have that than be hurt and not be able to play.”
“Jake didn’t play that much at the end, but we were able to give him a lot of good experience,” said Bradley. “He went away and played in a good collegiate summer league down in the Carolinas. When we came back, we knew that he was going to be a guy that was going to hit in the middle of our lineup and somebody that we were going to really count on to produce for us this year.”
Koonin has been outstanding for Princeton in 2024, recording hits in 35 of the team’s 41 contests including a current 17-game hitting streak. He leads the team in hitting (.329), RBI (40), total bases (80), slugging percentage (.537) and stolen bases (11).
“The biggest thing for all the players is you can’t show it in spurts, you got to be a consistent factor in the lineup,” said Bradley about Koonin this season. “I think that the next big thing for him will be to really be able to do a better job of hitting the ball to all fields. He’s been terrific for so far this year.”
It’s not lost on Bradley about how there are two Koonins that have had major impacts during his time as coach of Princeton Baseball.
“I don’t think there’s a lot of parents that wouldn’t want their kids to follow in their footsteps and get a Princeton degree,” said Bradley. “The fact that the baseball played into it means we’ve done things right. More important than wins and losses is that you try to treat the kids the right way, give them an experience and the opportunity to develop in all areas of their life. It’s full circle, but it means quite a bit that I would have an opportunity to coach both a father and son.”
