Former Stanford Baseball Stars Finish What They Start

by Scott Allen on Feb 23, 2025 4:00 PM PST

In the not too distant future, Stanford graduates could account for one-third of the college degrees in all of major league baseball. Boston Red Sox infielder Jed Lowrie is expected to receive his degree in political science this June, while former Cardinal teammates Jason Castro, a catcher for the Houston Astros, and Drew Storen, a reliever for the Washington Nationals, are both working toward their degrees.

"I had invested too much time," Lowrie told FanHouse's Ed Price. "I knew it was going to happen. It was just a matter of finding the right time."

As Price mentions in his interesting profile of Lowrie, a 2009 study by the Wall Street Journal found only 26 major leaguers, including managers, had earned their college degrees. According to GoStanford.com, 12 former Stanford players played in the major leagues in 2010. Of those 12, at least six had earned their undergraduate degrees.

Hit the jump to check out the full list. I was unable to determine with any reasonable certainty the degree status for three players, as denoted by the "(?)" next to their undergraduate majors.

PLAYER	TEAM	DEGREE
Jason Castro	HOU	Sociology *
Chris Carter	NYM	Human Biology
Sam Fuld	CHC	Economics
Ryan Garko	TEX	American Studies
Jody Gerut	MIL	History
Jeremy Guthrie	BAL	Sociology (?) **
John Hester	ARI	Economics (?) ***
Jed Lowrie	BOS	Political Science ****
Donny Lucy	CWS	Political Science (?) *****
John Mayberry, Jr.	PHI	Political Science
Carlos Quentin	CWS	Political Science
Drew Storen	WAS	Product Design ******

* Working toward degree.
** One class short of finishing Sociology degree as of 2007.
*** Couldn't find confirmation that Hester graduated.
**** Expected to graduate in June.
***** Article linked in table indicates that Lucy graduated, but I couldn't find other mentions to confirm.
****** Working toward degree.

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Graduates

According to the Stanford Alumni Association site, Guthrie, Lucy and Hester have graduated and are in the classes of 2004, 2005, and 2006, respectively. I think that the alumni association allows a graduate to designate his social class rather than the actual year that the degree was finally completed.

by stanlawmed on Feb 24, 2025 5:42 AM PST reply actions

Thanks for the info.

Stanford players may already account for one-third of the MLB college degrees then.

by Scott Allen on Feb 24, 2025 6:09 AM PST up reply actions

That’s correct. The SAA allows you to determine your class, even if you had your degree conferred in a different year. I think the SAA also allows you to show up on the rolls of graduates from that class, though, without having actually graduated, so it’s possible to show up as a graduate of a particular class without having a degree or diploma.

As far as the guys, I’m 99% certain that Lucy got his degree — in fact, I think part of the reason that he only stayed three years on the Farm was that he was able to finish his PoliSci degree in that time, allowing him to enter the Draft despite having only one complete (very good) season under his belt at Stanford. His 2005 graduation date may reflect his wish to be with the class he entered with, not the class he graduated in.
Guthrie, I’m not sure. The year of his graduation is the same case as with Donny, except I’m almost positive he came back circa ‘05 after his mission, but didn’t play on the team.
I have no idea about Hester, but if someone were to force me to venture a guess, I’d say yes because he stayed on campus all four years.

by RedOscar on Feb 24, 2025 11:50 AM PST up reply actions