McCollum ready to lead Rattlers

Jeremiah McCollum is FAMU’s ace. Photo courtesy FAMU athletics

The baseball season is quickly  approaching, and one of the Rattlers’ strengths is their pitching staff. With depth in arms FAMU is expect to repeat as MEAC champions.

For this to happen,  Jeremiah McCollum is a determining factor.

Going in to his third season on the mound, McCollum has maintained a similar level of success while competing for the Rattlers. Before the 2020 season was terminated  due to COVID, McCollum had a 1.42 earned run average through five games with 11 strike outs. In 2019 he was named HBCU Pitcher of the Year and First-Team All-Conference.

“The main goal is to win my second MEAC championship and to also become the first Rattler in five years to be drafted by Major League Baseball,” McCollum, a native of Houston, said.

“In our upcoming schedule we play the No. 1 team in the country, the Florida Gators, and Stetson University. They’re a top 30 team in the nation. I want to perform well but my biggest goal is to beat them.”

Playing in the MLB has always been McCollum’s dream. This year he has a chance for those dreams to come true. Seeing many of his peers make it into professional sports has pushed him to stay driven. His father played in the NFL, which allows McCollum to have an inside perspective on what it takes to make it into professional sports.

“Jeremiah always had the ability to be a leader, whether it was on the field or in the classroom,” said Aquental McCollum, his father. “I truly believe that it is his leadership that allows him to go above and beyond. Me being his parent and coaching him for a little bit I used to tell him you have to have complete knowledge of the game. He now has to be an assassin and can’t let anything stand in his way.”

McCollum isn’t new to being a star. While in high school he was named a 2017 Perfect Game Preseason All-American. While playing at one of the best high school programs in the country, Kempner High School, he dominated his junior and senior years. The Kempner Cougars were ranked No. 4 in the state of Texas and top 50 in the nation during McCollum’s senior year.

“I found out about Jeremiah around the time I signed to FAMU during my senior year,” said Rob Robinson Jr., a shortstop for FAMU. “When I first met him he was funny but I could tell he was a leader. Once I found out he pitched I was amazed by the fact that he did that and played the outfield.” 

With two years of eligibility McCollum is going to do whatever needs to be done to accomplish his goals. The journalism major plans to graduate in  December. Alongside his athletic career McCollum plans on becoming a TV sports analyst covering all major sports.