While most players were concentrating on the upcoming Arkansas series last Friday, pitcher Jason Determann had other things on his mind.
Determann, a pre-medicine junior at LSU, received news Thursday night that he had been accepted into LSU’s School of Medicine in Shreveport just 24 hours before LSU’s game at Fayetteville, Ark.
“It was the best feeling in the world,” Determann said. “Besides signing to play baseball at LSU, this was one of the best feelings I’ve had.”
The news proved beneficial for Determann as he went on to earn the win for LSU on Friday. Determann pitched 1.2 innings in the Tigers’ 10-7 comeback victory.
According to Determann, a friend of a friend notified his parents that he had been accepted into the program and that he would receive his acceptance letter Thursday or Friday.
But with LSU already in Fayetteville on Thursday, Determann had no way of knowing.
Determann’s father, Mike Determann, then went to his son’s apartment to retrieve the letter and learned that his son had been accepted.
Determann received the phone call from his father Thursday night.
While baseball has always been a big part of Determann’s life, medicine was something he knew he wanted to pursue.
“Coming into college I knew I wanted to do something with medicine,” Determann said. “I guess I’m one of the few college students who doesn’t have to change majors.”
Determann said his interest in medicine, especially in orthopedic surgery, peaked after undergoing elbow surgery in 2002.
“Having surgery my freshman year and going through that jumped me into orthopedics,” Determann said. “Hopefully it will work out.”
Determann underwent Tommy John surgery his freshman year after injuring his elbow in a Feb. 20 game at Centenary.
Tommy John surgery is a procedure named after former Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Tommy John.
It involves the removal of ligaments from one area to replace torn ligaments in another.
Having gone through a number of applications the past few months, Determann said it feels good to finally know what he will be doing next year.
“I never worried about it on the field,” Determann said. “But at other times, I didn’t know if I was going to be in Baton Rouge or New Orleans or a podunk city in Florida playing baseball.”
In his third year at LSU, Determann has posted a 2.29 ERA, going 3-0 in 15 appearances with 39 strikeouts and five walks.
With his current situation, Determann said he had three options.
It was just a matter of choosing between medical school, the Major League Baseball draft or LSU for one more year.
“I told myself that if I got in [medical school], it would take a lot to change going through with it,” Determann said. “If I turned them down, I would have had to go through the whole process again.”
And now, after learning that the 2005 season would be his last, Determann said the rest of this season will be important to him.
“It’s going to be a little more memorable,” Determann said. “But it comes to the point when you just have to give it up. As bad as I don’t want it to end, I have to go on with life. But I know it will be fun.”