José Cruz Jr. ’96 and Jeremy Thigpen ’97
It all began with a phone call between two old friends: Jeremy Thigpen ’97 and José Cruz Jr. ’96.
Jeremy recalls, “José, who had just become the head baseball coach at Rice, called me up in the middle of his recruiting efforts and said, ‘Man, there’s a pitcher we want, but it’s between us and Vanderbilt. He said he’d come to Rice if we had a pitching lab.’”
Jeremy saw an opportunity to support his friend and the program they both love. “I told him to call back and tell him we had one,” he said. “When he asked how we’d do that, I just said, ‘We’ll figure it out.’”
Driven by his love for Rice and the desire to see the baseball program return to its former glory, Jeremy made a significant donation to kick-start the fundraising effort. “I wanted to help José get the tools he needed to restore the program to what it was when we were there, to the days of Lance Berkman ’98, Bubba Crosby ’01 and Matt Anderson ’98,” he said.
Support from others, including Mike Fox ’85, Mike Plank and Mike Wilson ’93, helped fund the creation of the pitching lab, which José affectionately named “The Pigpen” as a nod to Jeremy.
“As a kid, with the last name Thigpen, you get nicknames like ‘Pigpen’ from mean kids,” Jeremy laughed. “But when my wife and I were thinking of a name for our ranch, we came up with Pigpen. José had loved it, and he asked if he could use it, and I said absolutely.”
“The combination of cutting-edge technology and excellent coaching is a recipe for success.” — Jeremy Thigpen ’97
Located under the left field stands at Reckling Park, the Rice Pitching Lab appears unassuming but houses cutting-edge technology. Transformed from an indoor batting area, it now features state-of-the- art equipment like the KinaTrax system, which uses eight markerless cameras to capture detailed biomechanical data; AMTI force plates embedded in the mound that measure pitch forces, Mobile Trackman for tracking ball flight and the Edgertronic Baseball Camera for highLocated under the left field stands at Reckling Park, the Rice Pitching Lab appears unassuming but houses cutting-edge technology. Transformed from an indoor batting area, it now features state-of-the- art equipment like the Kinatrax system, which uses eight markerless cameras to capture detailed biomechanical data, AMTI force plates embedded in the mound that measure pitch forces; mobile Trackman for tracking ball flight; and the Edgertronic Baseball Camera for high-speed, detailed pitch analysis
Together, these technologies provide comprehensive data for improving performance and mitigating injuries with both real-time observations and detailed postsession analysis. “This technology allows us to make mechanical adjustments before injuries occur and help players achieve their best,” said assistant coach Justin Aspegren. “It helps us attract players driven to improve. We are at the front line with top- tier technology and an excellent setup.”
Jeremy sees the lab as a crucial asset for the future of Rice baseball. “It’s a perfect fit for Rice’s reputation, both academically and athletically,” he said. “It’s already making a difference in attracting pitchers who want to succeed at the college level. The combination of cutting-edge technology and excellent coaching is a recipe for success.”
José credits Jeremy for helping refine Rice baseball. “Jeremy is single-handedly the reason that we took off in this particular space,” he said. “We have a top sport analytics program here, and we’re one of the first schools to do that. This is in great part because of the lab, and it all happened because of Jeremy Thigpen. So now it’s just a matter of keeping the momentum and making this the best program possible.”
Accelerate the Vision
To learn more about the ways you can support Rice athletes on and off the field, contact Ryan Hall, senior associate athletic director of development, at rh71@rice.edu or 713-348-6970
