As Jack Lausch (SESP ‘25) signed to become a quarterback for Northwestern football, he kept another sport in the back of his mind.

“I always felt like if baseball is meant for me, it would come back to me,” Lausch said.

Lausch, the No. 1-ranked outfielder from Illinois — and No. 23 nationally — in his class, had verbally committed to Notre Dame in June 2021 for baseball and would have been granted a preferred walk-on for the Fighting Irish’s football team.

But Lausch knew he would regret never making football his top priority. 

Partially lured by NU’s educational offerings, Lausch signed with the Wildcats’ football team in December 2021. By the 2024-25 academic year, when he was a junior, Lausch was named NU’s starting quarterback.

But he still missed baseball. Lausch watched his friends playing at other schools and professionally, realizing he wanted to give the sport another shot.

So Lausch did what few dare to try. In Spring Quarter 2025, Lausch made national headlines as he juggled classes, spring football practice and starting in center field for the ’Cats’ baseball team. 

Lausch said the biggest lesson he learned from balancing both sports was the importance of earning the respect and trust of his coaches and teammates.

“I had the opportunity to be with a lot of different teammates, a lot of different coaches, which was my favorite part, honestly, about doing both sports,” Lausch said. “But that wouldn’t have been possible if I didn’t communicate really well, if I wasn’t all in on serving other people and being a team player, because I couldn’t be two places at once sometimes.”

NU baseball coach Ben Greenspan said being a dual-sport athlete made Lausch a strong leader with good time management. 

He said it also allowed Lausch to develop unique skills within the sport.

“Jack plays the game with a toughness that is reminiscent of a football player,” Greenspan said. “He’s not going to be afraid to run into a fence. He’s not going to be afraid to lay out and catch a ball in the outfield.”

Lausch said leading about 100 teammates as a football quarterback improved his decisiveness in baseball and grew his leadership skills. Additionally, his competitiveness in football translated to baseball, particularly in one-on-one battles with a pitcher when batting.

By late July 2025, Lausch decided that the best decision for his future was to fully commit to baseball and chase after his dream of playing in the sport’s big leagues.

Lausch said one of the hardest parts of the transition was not playing football for the first time since he was about eight or nine years old. He also said it was initially difficult to adjust to playing just one sport and catch up to peers who had more college baseball experience.

“(Getting back into baseball) was a lot of time after practice (and) a lot of time before practice,” Lausch said. “And honestly, it was a lot of just figuring it out during the games, like ‘I’m going to try this version of my swing. And if I feel comfortable and it worked, great, keep doing it. If not, we’ll try the next one.’”

Lausch said at first, he made sure not to worry too much about the results and worked with coaches and teammates to catch up as quickly as possible. He said he believes how he dealt with this adversity will improve his future career.

During the 2026 season, Lausch led NU in batting average, slugging percentage, home runs and runs batted in. His single-season home run and bases totals both rank second in program history. Lausch also made the All-Big Ten Third Team this season, alongside former teammate and rising senior shortstop Ryan Kucherak.

As a player, Greenspan described Lausch as “toolsy.” According to Greenspan, Lausch can hit for power, run the bases, defend well and has a great arm. However, Lausch’s demeanor on and off the field is what stood out to his coach.

“What separates Jack is who he is and how he goes about his business and the work ethic and the makeup,” Greenspan said. “That’s elite, and he’s a pro in every sense of the word in terms of extra work or doing whatever’s needed for the team, but also whatever’s needed so that he can realize his potential.”

At the start of the 2026 season, Lausch was voted by his teammates to receive the highest honor in NU baseball: the Paul Stevens Life Teammate Award.

The award is voted on by teammates and given to a ’Cats baseball senior who best embodies the spirit of a lifelong teammate by being a leader on the field, in the locker room and in the community.

“That was a really cool experience, especially after only being there for really a year at that point,” Lausch said. “It just makes me happy that my teammates trust me and believe in me, to be someone that they look at to be a leader and who does things right.”

His former teammate and junior-year roommate Owen McElfatrick (SESP ‘26) said the award speaks to Lausch’s character, legacy at NU and love for his teammates.

McElfatrick described Lausch as a highly dedicated athlete with a very positive personality.

“He comes in every day with a smile on his face, goes through the same exact routine every day, and it’s like he’s never a different person,” McElfatrick said. “He’s undeniably himself, he wants to get better, he wants to keep going, and I think that speaks to who he is as a person. He wants to grow as a human being and reach his potential in life.”

Now graduated, Greenspan believes Lausch will hear his name called during the 2026 Major League Baseball Draft held July 11-12 and will hopefully climb his way through an organization.

Lausch, who was once unsure whether he wanted to play professional football or baseball, now hopes to pursue a career in MLB.

“I want to pursue a career as long as I can,” Lausch said. “Hopefully get a chance to play pro baseball this summer, and do that as long as I possibly can. And after that, I want to work in sports.”

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