Monroe’s Jimenez to stay close to home next year

BY DOUG McKENZIE
Staff Writer

staff photos Monroe’s Jarred Jimenez is one of the GMC’s top players on both the football and baseball fields, but will focus on just baseball when he attends Rutgers University next year. One of the Greater Middlesex Conference’s most celebrated student-athletes is staying close to home.

Monroe’s Jarred Jimenez, a standout on both the football and baseball fields, has made his decision to attend Rutgers University next year, where he will play baseball for head coach Fred Hill’s Scarlet Knights team.

Jimenez was offered scholarships to several schools for both football and baseball, but decided that playing baseball close to home was the most important thing for him.

“My whole life, my dad’s been my coach,” Jimenez said. “And I never would have been able to accomplish what I have without my family. That came into play a lot in making my decision. I could have gone pretty far away and played.”

Jimenez added that Hill and his coaching staff made the decision easier than it could have been.

“Coach Hill brought me around the facilities there in his own car and really made me feel at home,” he said. “All of the coaches were great, and the facilities are great.”

Among the schools that were courting the 5-foot-9, 190-pound senior were West Virginia, Virginia, St. John’s, Coastal Carolina and Lafayette. But in the end, the draw of Rutgers’ baseball program was enough to keep this local standout in New Jersey.

“I’ll probably play left field at Rutgers,” Jimenez said, adding that he was told by Hill that he will get every opportunity to play as a freshman.

“He told me the best player plays,” he said. “If I’m better than the senior, I play. [Coach Hill] is not fooling anybody.”

Jimenez should compete for that starting spot, too. This past spring, as a junior, he batted .516 with 12 home runs and eight doubles, and set 11 school records, including career marks in runs, RBIs, home runs and steals.

His résumé only grew over the summer’s American Legion season, where he led a strong South Brunswick team into the postseason with his bat.

But while he looks forward to making the jump to collegiate baseball, his decision has also made this coming football season all the more important to him, since it will be his last.

“Without a doubt, I’m going to miss playing football,” he said. “I’ve been playing football since I was 5 years old. It’s going to be hard.”

Among the schools that talked to him about playing football were Rutgers, Virginia and a host of Division II-AA schools.

But in the end, his decision to play baseball at Rutgers ended what could have been a tedious recruiting process, and has allowed him to put all of his concentration where it belongs this year — on the playing field.

“I’m glad I committed early,” he said. “Now I’ve got everything off my back and can just play ball and enjoy myself.”