On Feb. 2, 2023, Jackson Marko woke up and got ready for a normal day as a freshman at Cornell University.
Little did he know that at around 3 p.m., he would receive an email that would lead to the opportunity of a lifetime. Baseball head coach Dan Pepicelli was offering him the chance to stand in as a catcher for the Division I baseball team in the bullpens, amid injuries on the team.
After Marko’s first practice with the team that night, Pepicelli would offer him a roster spot.
In around six hours, Marko had transitioned to being a member of the varsity baseball team, after just one crucial season on Cornell Club Baseball.
Christian Brothers Academy to Cornell Club Ball
In high school, Marko played baseball for Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse. CBA was ranked No. 1 in its section in 2022, Marko’s senior season. However, Marko was the backup to another catcher from his year, Louis Percival, who was the best hitter for their section their senior year. Percival would go on to sign and play Division I baseball for Siena College.
“My coaches used to say ‘We are going to find a way to get you in this lineup because you are a better catcher than 90 percent of the teams we play,’ but it was just so difficult to find playing time with a guy that was so talented and in my year,” Marko said.
This presented Marko with a challenge — he gained experience playing with a competitive team but was not able to truly make a name for himself. But to Marko, playing time was not his top priority.
“I don’t think I was necessarily unheralded, but I do not think any college coach in the country would have heard of me, since I did not have any crazy stats or film,” Marko said. “But in reality, I cared about establishing a winning culture for the team.”
Marko was named team captain his senior year and won the John P. Durkin Award for sportsmanship, leadership and character.
At the end of his senior year, Marko accepted his offer of admission to Cornell. Marko currently studies biology and society in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, pursuing a pre-medical track. Marko explained how he chose to attend Cornell due to its academic rigor rather than its baseball opportunities.
Still, Marko joined Cornell Club Baseball as a freshman, determined to continue playing the sport he loved. He described that he had fun playing throughout the fall 2023 season while also finding monumental success as he led the nation in batting averages across club baseball.
The Email of a Lifetime
After wrapping up the fall ball season in his freshman year, Marko returned to his hometown with his baseball gear in tow. But when he returned for the spring semester, Marko forgot to bring his gear back.
His father, Matthew Marko, planned to drive his son’s gear back to Ithaca a few days before the club spring season would begin but luckily happened to come up earlier due to a work meeting being canceled.
The very same day his father brought his gear down, Marko received the email that would shake up his entire college experience.
In the email, Pepicelli informed Marko that the Division I baseball team had “a couple injuries” and needed someone to come out and “catch some bullpens” during practice.
“Initially I was just thrilled at the opportunity to play baseball, and to do it with that group of guys was a blessing,” Marko said. “Coach [Pepicelli] said nothing about walking on or getting a roster spot but I was not even thinking about that, I just wanted to go out there and play baseball.”
The email came at around 3 p.m., according to Marko, and he was already at his first practice being introduced to the team by 5 p.m.
“We needed someone that had an eye for and knowledge of the game,” Pepicelli said. “I found Jackson’s name and I reached out to him, but you really never know how someone is going to adapt with the other guys — not just the talent gap but also the chemistry that the team already had.”
Pepicelli explained that his players were looking for two things out of Marko: whether or not he would help the team and if he was going to work hard for them. Pepicelli said that after practice, the other players, specifically the pitchers, reiterated that they thoroughly enjoyed having Marko around.
“Our pitchers really liked throwing to him, and they really appreciated him right off the bat,” Pepicelli said. “I remember them saying, ‘Coach, let’s keep this guy around he’s good.’ So that is all I needed to hear, and ever since then [Marko] has been a first-class individual for us and nothing but a blessing.”
Marko said Pepicelli told him he was impressed with what he saw during practice and offered him a roster spot on the team that night — which he happily accepted.
‘The Ultimate Team Player’
In under twenty-four hours, Marko went from having no baseball gear on campus to holding a spot on a Division I baseball team.
“I went from just focusing on school and baseball being priority number five to suddenly: Wow, I am a Division I athlete,” Marko said. “I think I slept four or five hours that first night. … I remember I came home and my roommate asked me where I had been and I told him that I had a crazy story to tell him.”
Marko’s new life entailed new responsibilities: he quickly adjusted to daily practices and weightlifting sessions, signing up for NCAA clearances and studying the playbook on top of getting closer to his new teammates.
Marko would spend hours at practice catching six to eight bullpens — an intense job for catchers as it involves long periods of squatting while catching various types of pitches.
“Marko handles a lot for our team. He truly is the ultimate team player,” Pepicelli said. “He catches a lot of our bullpens which is some heavy lifting and not the best job to have, but he is always so focused [and] locked in and approaches each practice with such a high level of intention.”
Now, Marko is the oldest catcher on the team and works with two other catchers. His current goal for the team is to win the Ivy League Baseball Tournament while he aims to serve as a source of wisdom and support for all of his teammates.
“Last year was a stinging loss on the front of everyone’s memory so we want to get back to the championship and avenge it,” Marko said.
In the spring 2024 season, the Red lost to the University of Pennsylvania in the Ivy League Title game in two games with a score of 11-9 in the first game and 12-6 in the second game.
Marko credited his father as a primary source of his success.
“Without my dad, none of it would have happened from a literal sense but he has also been my number one supporter and I would not be able to do it without him and his advice,” Marko said.
He also said that his freshman-year roommate played an important role in inspiring him to work hard.
“He was my best friend in high school and he wanted to walk on to the track team, so having a roommate that was so motivated was inspiring, and watching him persevere was really motivating,” Marko said. “He definitely influenced my success.”
Two years later, Marko said he is still incredibly honored to get to play for the team.
“This opportunity was not something I dreamed of or imagined, so I am going to be the guy that makes the most of it by putting my head down and working and doing whatever the team needs me to do to win,” Marko said.
Pepicelli said that the decision he made three years ago is one he is grateful for to this day, noting Marko’s continuous positive impact.
“We didn’t recruit Jackson. We didn’t know anything about Jackson, so the fact that he can help our program as much as he does as the ultimate team player, that is a huge, huge benefit,” Pepicelli said. “He continues to make our pitchers and our culture better, so he is a huge contributor to any of the wins we get.”
