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MSU baseball’s Boss Jr. closing in on career milestone

Michigan State Athletic Communications

EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State baseball coach Jake Boss Jr. knows he’s in elite company. It’s not easy to become a head coach of a Division I baseball team, and there are few positions at the top.

He is grateful to coach at Michigan State, happy to be a competitive leader, confident in his ability to lead the team. He also believes in his players, knowing they have the talent and drive to be successful.

Boss is on the cusp on a career milestone, closing in on 300 wins. He is 298-216 in his 10th year as a coach, with a 273-182 record in eight years at MSU. He spent his first year as the head coach of Eastern Michigan, then came to MSU in 2008.

Funny thing is, Boss had no idea about closing in the 300-mark…until somebody mentioned it.

“Prior to last week I had no idea I was we were even close to 300 wins here, it is something I never thought about, we just go out and try to win as many games as we can and whatever that number ends being it ends up being,” Boss said.

He seems to not be worried about his personal achievements, remaining focused on the winning games and advancing in the Big Ten and NCAA tournament.

“We kind of set a goal for our program and we haven't achieved it yet, but we have got close to it, having a 40-win season is a goal,” said Boss. “In order to reach these goals we have to live it out every day, live it out in practice and go about our business at the end of the season we and will see where we are at.” 

Michigan State Athletic Communications

MSU is 9-1 overall, and will start Big Ten play on March 24 at Illinois. The team is on a spring break trip down South, taking on No. 9 Clemson and No. 10 South Carolina.

The Spartans open their home season on March 22, taking on Central Michigan.

Boss is happy to see MSU building a strong program, and is pushing himself and the team to get better.

“I am very fortunate to work for a school like Michigan State, a school growing up that I was a fan of, but not good enough to make the team,” said Boss. “When I started coaching on the collegiate level, this was my dream job and I pinch myself daily that I am the head coach here. My biggest accomplishment is getting to work with the people here at Michigan State and getting a chance to coach these kids.”

        

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