On Sunday, Sept. 21, Manheim Township junior baseball player Jacob Carrasco officially announced his commitment to the University of Oregon.

The University of Oregon is home of the Oregon Ducks, the 20th ranked team in NCAA Division I baseball. Led by coach Mark Wasikowski, the team had a record of 42 wins and 16 losses and were crowned the Big Ten Champions in 2025.

Carrasco has been playing baseball ever since he was young. He remembers holding a bat and playing catch with his dad starting from when he could first walk. As a result of the hours of work he has put into the sport, Carrasco has drawn interest from multiple college baseball programs, but Oregon stood out to him from the rest.

“Oregon stuck out to me because of the coaching staff. At Oregon, it’s more than baseball. It’s a family, and I really appreciated that,” Carrasco said.

While speaking about his love for baseball, it was apparent that Carrasco valued more than just the sport, but the community itself. His passion for baseball is driven by his love for family and the desire to succeed.

“For me, the love of the game is the failure,” he said. “To succeed in baseball is one of the most rewarding things when the game is all about failure.”

The game of baseball consists of numerous opportunities to fail. Every pitch, every at-bat and every defensive play presents new challenges and failures. The game’s physical and mental challenges can be very discouraging to players. However, Carrasco strives to learn from his mistakes and have a positive mindset.

“Baseball has been everything about my life and I’m grateful to call it the game I love,” Carrasco said.

He hopes to major in human physiology in addition to continuing his baseball career in college.