Jakubowski Signs National Letter of Intent to LIU

With a few strokes of a pen Wednesday, Tom Jakubowski set his mind at ease for the rest of his senior season at .

The three-sport athlete signed his letter of intent to Long Island University, where he’ll get a partial scholarship to play baseball for the Division I Blackbirds.

For Jakubowski, the signing was the final step in a path he’s had in mind throughout his high school career.

“It was always my goal to play big and go Division 1 and do great,” he said, citing teammate Tony Urban’s move up to UNC-Asheville this year as a motivating factor.

He won’t just be transitioning to the college game when he gets to LIU in the fall, though–he’ll also be making the move from first base to the outfield, and Jakubowski said he welcomes the opportunity, especially since it means he’ll get playing time as a freshman.

“I’ll come in and get a lot of experience,” he said.

As a junior, Jakubowski was dangerous whenever he came up to bat for West Deptford. He hit .538 on the year, and did so while hitting for power. He stroked 10 doubles and eight homers on his way to a 51 RBI season. He also swiped 18 bases, only getting caught once, and was a key piece in the Eagles winning their .

Add to that a .979 fielding percentage, and he proved himself .

West Deptford head baseball coach Mike Rucci said Jakubowski’s been an integral part of the team during his brief tenure, and praised him for his leadership ability.

“He’s the type of kid you want to model your program around,” Rucci said.

Those leadership skills should translate well to LIU, and Rucci said he won’t be surprised if Jakubowski is a team captain no later than his junior year.

“Not only are they getting a tremendous baseball player, but they’re getting a tremendous kid,” Rucci said.

Jakubowski’s parents, Steve and Debbie, said it’s a relief for them, knowing their son has his college path set so early.

Having Tom heading to the same school as his older brother was an added bonus.

“Though it wasn’t really part of the decision process for Tommy, it certainly didn’t hurt,” Steve Jakubowski said.

Both his parents said they were thrilled about a second son heading to LIU, which they said has been a great school and great environment.

And after four years of driving back and forth to Brooklyn to catch soccer matches, they’re pretty familiar with the school.

“We can throw away the GPS now,” Steve Jakubowski joked.

Now, it’s just a matter of enjoying the rest of football season, then moving on to basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring.

“It takes a huge weight off my shoulders,” Tom Jakubowski said. “I can just relax and play ball now, and not worry about anything, just worry about winning this season and maybe repeating as champions.”