By Robert Perea
After two years at the University of Nevada, Fernley High School graduate Jake Cumming is transferring to Coppin State University in Maryland for his junior season.
Cumming, a righthanded pitcher, announced on June 2 that he was entering the transfer portal, after completing his sophomore season in May. Cumming pitched in nine games for the Wolf Pack this season, with a 1-1 record, posting an earned run average of 14.73 with six strikeouts in a total of 11 innings.
As a freshman he pitched in eight games for a total of 14 2/3 innings with 17 strikeouts and posted an ERA of 8.59.
When he graduated from Fernley in 2023, Cumming said he considered himself a raw talent who was looking for the chance to develop under the tutelage of specialized college pitching coaches. Cumming said that has definitely been the case, with his velocity up to 96 miles per hour and sitting consistently 93-95. He said he’s also developed a couple of new pitches and throws a lot more strikes.
“I’ve definitely developed a lot,” he said. “Overall, I’ve gotten so much better.”
Cumming said he came into the past year expecting to pitch more than he did.
“But it just didn’t work out that way, and at the end of the year just kind of came to the decision that it was time to move on and go somewhere better for myself,” he said.
Cumming is pitching this summer for the Port Angeles (Wash.) Lefties of the West Coast League, where he is the team’s closer and has thrown 20 2/3 innings so far, and leads the team with 25 strikeouts. He has a 1-3 record and two saves with a 4.79 ERA.
“I want to get close to 30 innings before I leave, and there’s an All-Star game on July 16th, which as of right now it’s looking like I’m on the top watchlist to make it,” he said.
Cumming said the Lefties roster is made of a mix of players from all levels of college baseball, from NAIA to NCAA Division I, but other teams in the league have only Division I players, so the competition is very strong.
“The West Coast League is a very strong league,” he said.
Coppin State plays in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Cumming said he was attracted to Coppin State because of the coaches. Head coach Sherman Reed played professional baseball for 10 years in independent leagues. Pitching coach Wayne Franklin pitched seven seasons in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves.
“They reached out to me off one of my Twitter posts this summer and then gave me the offer and I felt like it was the best decision for me,” Cumming said. “The head coach is an ex-pro guy, the pitching coach played in the pros, so they definitely know their stuff.”
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