Story by Zach Scott, staff writer
At first glance, Gavin Wehby may just look like an average student; but that is far from true.
Wehby, a graduate student from Gulf Breeze, Florida spent his undergraduate years at Nicholls State University, where he graduated cum laude in his class. Wehby doesn’t stop in the classroom though; he is also an exceptional member of the Racers baseball team.
It’s rare you see an athlete not only excel on the field, but also graduate with honors. But Wehby has continued to not surpass the status quo, ensuring he is successful in both areas of life.
Wehby, like most students, struggled getting used to the college life.
“My first semester I had to get used to the time management,” Wehby said. “Then going into the spring my freshman year, I had to learn how to balance baseball with school work; especially on the road.”
During the grueling baseball season, Wehby said finding time to study for tests can be a struggle.
“Having multiple test in a week or two-week period and trying to figure out how to study for each test is difficult,” Wehby said.
Once Wehby settled in and adjusted, he began to excel in his class work.
“Once I figured out the routine, it wasn’t as bad,” Wehby said. “Learning how to study is the biggest thing.”
For most students, handling all of the challenges that school demands is more than enough, but Wehby was able to maintain good grades and excel on the baseball field.
Wehby boasted a career .279 batting average at his time in Nicholls State, including his junior season with the team where he batted for .310. Wehby’s slugging percentage also hung just under .400 his junior and senior year with Nicholls State, slugging at .391 and .383 clips, respectively.
Growing up playing baseball, Wehby said he used the life lessons he learned on the diamond and translated them into the classroom.
“Learning how to handle failures and how to work hard on the field definitely transferred over into my school work,” Wehby said.
Wehby also said it’s important that he never lets the two major aspects of his life coincide with the other. He said he never lets his baseball career interfere with his school work, but he also does not let school overwhelm him.
Graduating with honors is an extremely difficult task, but Wehby has been mostly humble about it.
“I don’t think any of them know I’m smart; I think they think I’m dumb, honestly,” Wehby said.
“News to me,” Caleb Hicks, a sophomore infielder from Ballwin, Missouri said when he heard Wehby talking about graduating with honors.
Once Wehby is all caught up with his school and not busy with baseball, he finds some time to relax. In his free time, Wehby enjoys playing the popular game Fortnite with teammate Ramsey Scott.
Wehby is currently in the Human Development and Leadership program here at Murray State, and aspires to become an insurance salesman after his collegiate career comes to a close.