Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Bond with MT great helping young Hagenow flourish
5/14/2018 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Long before the start of the 2018 Middle Tennessee baseball season, a young catcher walked into the annual Admiral Baseball Camp at Farragut High School in a small suburb of Knoxville, Tennessee.
He wasn't the biggest or the strongest middle schooler at the camp, though he had some skill behind the plate. What he had that stood out amongst the rest of the players was a strong personality and high character.
Little did the catcher know as he started playing toss and mingling with his fellow players that he was about to form a bond that would ultimately change his young life. The bond would eventually help lead the middle schooler to an amazing high-school career and solid freshman season at Middle Tennessee.
The young catcher's name was Jake Hagenow.
Also at that camp was a professional baseball player, a catcher and Farragut and Middle Tennessee alumnus trying to teach the game he loved to a younger generation of Major League dreamers.
The professional catcher was Michael McKenry, at the time a Pittsburgh Pirate who before had led the Blue Raiders for three years until being drafted in the seventh round of the 2006 MLB Draft.
McKenry was a regular at the Admiral Baseball Camp, where he tried to help young catchers in any way he could, whether on or off the field.
As the drills started that day and McKenry took a group of catchers, one kid stood out from the start: Hagenow.
He seemed to have a relentless competitiveness, and none of the young catchers grasped McKenry's teachings quite as quickly.
"He must have seen some talent in me, because he offered to start working with my brother and me," Hagenow said of McHenry. "From then on, whenever he was in town we would catch and hit and just talk.
"It meant everything. He's had a hand in my whole way of getting to where I am. No matter what question I ask, he always has an answer, and he pours his heart into the game."
Hagenow and McKenry built a fast friendship, and with the older catcher's help, Hagenow started to flourish behind the plate.
As a junior at Farragut in 2016, he was named an honorable mention All-American by Collegiate Baseball, then one-upped it in 2017 with an All-American First Team nod after hitting .456 with 23 doubles, three triples and nine home runs as a senior.
It was clear Hagenow was ready for collegiate ball, but McKenry's teachings weren't over – far from it.
McKenry will tell you he didn't bring up the idea of Hagenow attending Middle Tennessee, that he wanted the young catcher to attend a college that made him happy, no matter where that was.
Hagenow remembers it a little differently.
"He was always pushing me to be a Blue Raider," he said, quickly throwing in a laugh.
Hagenow's combination of offensive and defensive ability made him an attractive recruit for MT head coach Jim McGuire. He's also exceptional in the classroom and has aspirations of one day going to medical school and becoming an emergency room physician.
"That's been the goal for like 10 years," Hagenow said. "As a kid, I always wanted to do that. I can't do a desk job, I'd get bored. You don't see the same thing, and you have to react. It just sounds so cool."
It didn't hurt that his biggest mentor was one of the Blue Raiders' all-time great players, either.
McKenry, a 2017 Blue Raider Hall of Fame inductee, was a rock behind the plate for Middle Tennessee for three years. He's one of only three first team All-Americans in program history and is in the top 10 all-time in career RBIs (68) and slugging percentage (.494). He also helped lead MT to the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Championship and a 40-win season.
Needless to say, when Hagenow announced he would don the blue and white for Middle Tennessee, no one was as happy as McKenry.
"I really think Jake picked the right spot," he said. "MTSU fits with his rugged, hard-nosed personality. It's a great place."
After leaving Murfreesboro for the Major Leagues prior to his senior season in 2006, McKenry put together maybe the best professional career of any Blue Raider to date.
His 12-year career included stints in the big leagues with three teams, and he's appeared in more MLB games than any other Middle Tennessee alum.
McKenry officially announced he was hanging up his cleats in February, but he didn't leave baseball. He was named director of player development at Middle Tennessee in addition to joining the Pittsburgh Pirates television booth as an analyst.
The new role at MT means McKenry can be there to help all of the Blue Raiders, most importantly Hagenow. He can't be at every game because of his responsibilities with the Pirates, but he constantly follows the team and gives encouragements or words of advice whenever necessary.
"He sends us GIFs after wins," Hagenow said. "They're weird GIFs. I don't know where he finds these things.
"But, really, having someone out there in professional baseball who's tweeting at us encouragements and stuff, that's really cool."
Having McKenry around the program has helped Hagenow hit the ground running in his freshman season.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound catcher has started 21 games for the Blue Raiders and hit a respectable .254 with 12 runs scored. He's also been solid behind the plate, only allowing five passed balls and throwing out seven attempted base stealers.
The good start to Hagenow's Blue Raider career hasn't come as a surprise to McKenry.
"He just has the desire and the competitive nature to want to be better," he said. "I think he's only begun to tap into his potential. He's got so much ability and so much talent, and he has the work ethic to make it really pop. He puts his teammates first before himself, and especially his pitching staff. I'm just proud of him."
Hagenow is one of Middle Tennessee's most exciting young student-athletes.
The Blue Raiders should give a lot of gratitude to a chance meeting at an Admirals Baseball Camp. One of their hall of famers sure does.
"Jake, his older brother and his younger brother are all special," McKenry said. "Those three kids are a dynamite trio. It speaks a lot to their mom and dad, the way they raise their kids.
"I was very fortunate to meet Jake that day."
He wasn't the biggest or the strongest middle schooler at the camp, though he had some skill behind the plate. What he had that stood out amongst the rest of the players was a strong personality and high character.
Little did the catcher know as he started playing toss and mingling with his fellow players that he was about to form a bond that would ultimately change his young life. The bond would eventually help lead the middle schooler to an amazing high-school career and solid freshman season at Middle Tennessee.
The young catcher's name was Jake Hagenow.
Also at that camp was a professional baseball player, a catcher and Farragut and Middle Tennessee alumnus trying to teach the game he loved to a younger generation of Major League dreamers.
The professional catcher was Michael McKenry, at the time a Pittsburgh Pirate who before had led the Blue Raiders for three years until being drafted in the seventh round of the 2006 MLB Draft.
McKenry was a regular at the Admiral Baseball Camp, where he tried to help young catchers in any way he could, whether on or off the field.
As the drills started that day and McKenry took a group of catchers, one kid stood out from the start: Hagenow.
He seemed to have a relentless competitiveness, and none of the young catchers grasped McKenry's teachings quite as quickly.
"He must have seen some talent in me, because he offered to start working with my brother and me," Hagenow said of McHenry. "From then on, whenever he was in town we would catch and hit and just talk.
"It meant everything. He's had a hand in my whole way of getting to where I am. No matter what question I ask, he always has an answer, and he pours his heart into the game."
Hagenow and McKenry built a fast friendship, and with the older catcher's help, Hagenow started to flourish behind the plate.
As a junior at Farragut in 2016, he was named an honorable mention All-American by Collegiate Baseball, then one-upped it in 2017 with an All-American First Team nod after hitting .456 with 23 doubles, three triples and nine home runs as a senior.
It was clear Hagenow was ready for collegiate ball, but McKenry's teachings weren't over – far from it.
McKenry will tell you he didn't bring up the idea of Hagenow attending Middle Tennessee, that he wanted the young catcher to attend a college that made him happy, no matter where that was.
Hagenow remembers it a little differently.
"He was always pushing me to be a Blue Raider," he said, quickly throwing in a laugh.
Hagenow's combination of offensive and defensive ability made him an attractive recruit for MT head coach Jim McGuire. He's also exceptional in the classroom and has aspirations of one day going to medical school and becoming an emergency room physician.
"That's been the goal for like 10 years," Hagenow said. "As a kid, I always wanted to do that. I can't do a desk job, I'd get bored. You don't see the same thing, and you have to react. It just sounds so cool."
It didn't hurt that his biggest mentor was one of the Blue Raiders' all-time great players, either.
McKenry, a 2017 Blue Raider Hall of Fame inductee, was a rock behind the plate for Middle Tennessee for three years. He's one of only three first team All-Americans in program history and is in the top 10 all-time in career RBIs (68) and slugging percentage (.494). He also helped lead MT to the 2004 Sun Belt Conference Championship and a 40-win season.
Needless to say, when Hagenow announced he would don the blue and white for Middle Tennessee, no one was as happy as McKenry.
"I really think Jake picked the right spot," he said. "MTSU fits with his rugged, hard-nosed personality. It's a great place."
After leaving Murfreesboro for the Major Leagues prior to his senior season in 2006, McKenry put together maybe the best professional career of any Blue Raider to date.
His 12-year career included stints in the big leagues with three teams, and he's appeared in more MLB games than any other Middle Tennessee alum.
McKenry officially announced he was hanging up his cleats in February, but he didn't leave baseball. He was named director of player development at Middle Tennessee in addition to joining the Pittsburgh Pirates television booth as an analyst.
The new role at MT means McKenry can be there to help all of the Blue Raiders, most importantly Hagenow. He can't be at every game because of his responsibilities with the Pirates, but he constantly follows the team and gives encouragements or words of advice whenever necessary.
"He sends us GIFs after wins," Hagenow said. "They're weird GIFs. I don't know where he finds these things.
"But, really, having someone out there in professional baseball who's tweeting at us encouragements and stuff, that's really cool."
Having McKenry around the program has helped Hagenow hit the ground running in his freshman season.
The 6-foot-1, 180-pound catcher has started 21 games for the Blue Raiders and hit a respectable .254 with 12 runs scored. He's also been solid behind the plate, only allowing five passed balls and throwing out seven attempted base stealers.
The good start to Hagenow's Blue Raider career hasn't come as a surprise to McKenry.
"He just has the desire and the competitive nature to want to be better," he said. "I think he's only begun to tap into his potential. He's got so much ability and so much talent, and he has the work ethic to make it really pop. He puts his teammates first before himself, and especially his pitching staff. I'm just proud of him."
Hagenow is one of Middle Tennessee's most exciting young student-athletes.
The Blue Raiders should give a lot of gratitude to a chance meeting at an Admirals Baseball Camp. One of their hall of famers sure does.
"Jake, his older brother and his younger brother are all special," McKenry said. "Those three kids are a dynamite trio. It speaks a lot to their mom and dad, the way they raise their kids.
"I was very fortunate to meet Jake that day."
Players Mentioned
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