Extra Innings for Whitman Student-Athletes in Grad School

Rising to the Challenge

Jai Deshpande ’24 was looking forward to his first semester on a college campus when he found out he’d be living at home instead. “I was worried I wouldn’t get the traditional college experience,” he says.

But the pandemic came with some significant, if unexpected, upsides. With the men’s basketball team in a rebuilding phase when he finally arrived on campus, Desphande enjoyed far more playing time than would be typical for a first-year player.

“This improved my game at a much faster rate,” he says. “I found a deeper love for basketball during that season because it was all I had.”

During that still semi-isolated time in the pandemic, Desphande says Head Men’s Basketball Coach John Lamanna taught him a lot. “Lamanna challenged me, but I grew so much as a man that year. I’m grateful everything happened the way it did.”

Desphande’s focus and work paid off—in multiple ways. As a senior, he was the leading scorer in the Northwest Conference (NWC), which earned him a lot of recruiting attention—and ultimately, a basketball scholarship to Brandeis University, where he’s now putting the skills and strengths he developed at Whitman into play on the court and in the classroom. 

“Whitman gave me a broad knowledge base, increased my general curiosity about the world and helped me learn how to learn, which prepared me for grad school,” he says. 

But Deshpande feels his time on the Blues men’s basketball team was his best teacher. “I believe playing college basketball at Whitman prepared me the most for rigorous academics because it taught me accountability, performance under pressure and delayed gratification.”

Primed for the Big Time

Tanner Filion ’23 has amassed an impressive collegiate swimming resume, despite having to skip the NWC Championships in 2020 due to COVID-19.

“While it was hard then, I think it was really a blessing in disguise,” Filion says. He credits the pandemic for giving him time to develop as a swimmer—as well as for the swimming scholarship that paid for his master’s degree program in Management at Notre Dame. Swimming for the Fighting Irish’s Division I program also led to the chance to compete in the 2024 Olympic trials, where he made the semifinal in the 100-meter backstroke.

Filion gives credit and thanks to both his Whitman professors and coaches. Head Swimming Coach Jennifer Blomme was an instrumental force in his life. “She is an unbelievably talented coach and an amazing human. She played a pivotal role in my development as a swimmer and as a person,” he says.

“Whitman’s liberal arts education also gave me an amazing perspective on problem solving for business, specifically consulting projects,” he says. “In particular, my upper-level Psychology classes taught me how to read, write and think critically.”

Whatever life throws at him, Filion is now confident he’s prepared. “Whitman taught me how to maintain perspective and break any goal into smaller, manageable chunks when things seem daunting.”

Starting & Finishing Strong

Missing his final baseball season as a high school senior was a tough pill for Julien Hernandez ’24 to swallow. “I still think about what we could have done,” he says. “But aside from the heartbreak of losing that year, I am grateful for other things that came out of the pandemic.” 

It may sound counter-intuitive, but Hernandez credits the break from regular practices and competition with benefiting him as an athlete. It gave him time to take a strategic approach to weightlifting and to further develop his skills as a pitcher. “It prepared me to come into Whitman ready to compete right away.”

Hernandez’s excellent preparation set the stage for continued success in both his sport and his studies at Whitman. His many accomplishments include being named the NWC Athlete of the Year, which is awarded to graduating student-athletes who have demonstrated excellence in the areas of academics, athletics, community service and leadership.

During his senior year at Whitman, Hernandez committed to the University of Oregon (UO) to use his additional athletic eligibility. He’s also enjoying a smooth transition to graduate school at UO, where he’s pursuing a Master of Public Administration. “Whitman’s expectations, as far as academic workload, time management and communicating with professors is no different than grad school, so my graduate program feels like a continuation of my academic journey from Whitman.”

Hernandez feels Whitman set him up for success far beyond the classroom. “Learning how to develop professional relationships as well as how to make the most out of every opportunity are skills I learned at Whitman that I can apply for the rest of my life.”

Time To Strengthen, Step Up & Shine

When the pandemic cut short his first baseball season at Whitman, “It was a shocking and confusing time,” Ben Parker ’23 recalls. But he made the most of a challenging situation, taking advantage of the opportunity to spend quality time with his family and fine-tune his training.

“I really started to make strides as a player,” he says. Every day, he trained with his brother, who now plays for the Toronto Blue Jays. And he returned to Whitman focused on getting everything he could from his undergraduate experience. “I honestly don’t think I would be where I am today without that time.”

And where is he? In the spring of 2024, Parker led William & Mary’s Division I baseball team in his debut season with a team-best 69 runs and 49 walks, the second most in a single season in program history.

Now in his second year as an MBA candidate at the public university in Williamsburg, Virginia, Parker has no doubt his Whitman education propelled his academic success. “The small class sizes at Whitman forced engagement and participation, which prepared me extremely well for the interactivity of business school.”

Back in Full Swing

Like many of his peers, Leo Rivera ’22 describes finding out the 2020 baseball season was suspended as “heartbreaking.” In his first year at Whitman, the men’s baseball team had made it to the NWC playoffs and won the tournament for the first time since 1952.

“I was confident we were going to be even better,” says Rivera.

Then the pandemic hit—and baseball season was suddenly over. But within a few years, gratitude had replaced heartbreak. “Without COVID, I’d never have played at Lewis-Clark State. Playing for a school with 19 national championships totally changed my life.”

His time at Whitman more than prepared Rivera to balance academics and athletics at LC State in Lewiston, Idaho. “I was extremely prepared for my courses,” Rivera says.

His Whitman experience, both in the classroom and on the playing field, also taught him valuable lessons about communication—a key skill as he works toward his goal of becoming a coach.

He describes his Whitman coach and mentor, Brian Kitamura ’10, as an incredible role model and says he also gleaned important insights from his Sociology coursework.

“Classes with professors Michelle Janning and Alissa Cordner showed me how our environment shapes our perspectives and beliefs,” he says. “And that understanding has been instrumental in up-leveling my communication skills. As a coach, you need those skills to get to know each player on a deep level—to motivate them on and off the field.”