Slugger Nwogu Big Reason for Wolverine Baseball Fans to Continue Optimism
7/17/2019 12:00:00 PM | Baseball, Features
By Steve Kornacki
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- What baseball statistic means the most to University of Michigan slugger Jordan Nwogu?
He smiled and said without hesitation: "OPS," the abbreviation for on-base plus slugging percentage.
Nwogu led the NCAA runner-up Wolverines with a staggering .992 OPS by also finishing first with a .435 on-base percentage and tied for first with Big Ten Player of the Year Jordan Brewer with a .557 slugging percentage.
"That stat is the sign of an all-around hitter -- not just a slugger, not just a speed-like kind of guy," said Nwogu, a unique blend of speed and power who provided everything head coach Erik Bakich wanted in a leadoff hitter. "I strive to do everything and not just one thing."
He grabbed everyone's attention with a 1.013 OPS in 2018, when he was a Collegiate Baseball News Freshman All-American.
The honors continued in 2019 for Nwogu (WO-goo), selected American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) second team All-American and first team All-Big Ten at designated hitter.
Nwogu is one of five returning starters from a team that won over countless fans when it defeated No. 1 seed UCLA in an NCAA Super Regional before it dispatched Florida State and No. 8 seed Texas Tech twice to reach the championship best-of-three series in the College World Series against No. 2 seed Vanderbilt.
Center fielder Jesse Franklin, shortstop Jack Blomgren, catcher Joe Donovan, left fielder Christan Bullock and Nwogu (who strained a quad muscle on his second at-bat in game two with Vandy) will be back for 2020.
Nwogu and Franklin will provide the biggest power bats in a lineup that loses first baseman Jimmy Kerr and right fielder Brewer, who were drafted by and signed with the Detroit Tigers and Houston Astros, respectively. Sparkplug second baseman Ako Thomas and quality third baseman Blake Nelson also are gone after their senior seasons.
Brewer, while pointing to Nwogu, said, "I can't wait to see what that kid does next year."
Nwogu is one of the most intriguing student-athletes Michigan has had in recent years. He's an engineering major attending on an academic scholarship who turned down football scholarships to Brown of the Ivy League, Air Force, Kent State and Eastern Michigan. He was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to Nigerian parents, mother Uche George-Nwogu and father Okey Nwogu, who both work at Michigan. Ann Arbor became home for Jordan just prior to entering kindergarten, and he has an older brother, Nile, and a younger brother, Kenan.
His full name is Jordan Chijioke George-Nwogu, which led to the "J.G." nickname first pinned on him in elementary school. To make name recognition easier, he simply goes by his first name and father's last name.
"My parents told me my middle name means 'God is in charge of creation,'" said Jordan, citing the Nigerian dialect translation. "My mom is a physician (at U-M Hospital) and my dad's a research scientist in the Naval Architecture (and Marine) Engineering department. My dad used to be a professor."
Nwogu, 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, was a football defensive end and tight end at Ann Arbor Pioneer High. He's an imposing figure when he digs in at the plate, and batted .321 with 12 homers and 46 RBI to finish in the top five on the team in those categories. He tied for second with 58 runs, made good on 16 of 18 stolen base attempts for the third most, and led the team with four triples.
"You have to get the triple by running hard right out of the box," said Nwogu, "and definitely when you get to top speed, it's exciting. Nothing is going to stop you, and it's bang-bang at third. It's an exhilarating play for everyone watching."
Nwogu had an on-base streak of 33 games that lasted nearly two months.
"I think the biggest thing was pitch selection," Nwogu said of the improvement during his sophomore season. "I tried to hone in on which pitches I can drive the best. Sometimes, I get myself out on low pitches I shouldn't be swinging at, and I'm working at that."
Franklin (left) celebrates with Nwogu after his game-winning double against Illinois
His walk-off double against Illinois and NCAA saves leader Garrett Acton kept the Wolverines alive in the Big Ten Tournament, and led to three victories there that were just enough to get them into the NCAA Tournament. Nwogu sparked something very special, and his two-run shot off the wall in left-center has been the most recalled piece or lore from a magical postseason.
"I was shaking," Nwogu said of that at-bat. "I was nervous because I hadn't performed well in the Big Ten Tournament before that. But I talked to teammates before going up to hit and they said, 'You've just got to trust it. There's no one better in this situation than you.'
"It was my turn to step up, I guess."
He got a fastball down the middle on a 1-1 count and drilled it.
"When I was running to first," said Nwogu, "I thought it was a dream. I couldn't tell if it was really happening. That was a situation you make up in your head, and to actually hit a walk-off just seemed more like a dream. It didn't hit me for a while."
That hit triggered a five-week run that produced Michigan's greatest baseball glory since winning the national title in 1962.
"It was a crazy run," said Nwogu, whose season began and ended with an injury.
Nwogu strained his lower back 10 days before the first game in February, and moved from left field to primarily DH to stay in the lineup.
"I think I'll be back in left field next year," said Nwogu, who sharpened his defensive skills during the season with volunteer coach Michael Brdar and said he's made strides in taking more precise routes to balls hit over his head. Coming in on balls hit in front of him remains an emphasis for improvement.
Bakich gave Nwogu No. 42 as a tribute to Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in the majors in 1947, and has had that number retired by all 30 MLB teams.
"When I got the number," said Nwogu, "I didn't think about it at first. But as I wore it, people started mentioning, 'Oh, Jackie Robinson.' At first, I didn't want to wear it because, 'What if I didn't play well?' I was nervous because I know Jackie Robinson changed the whole game, and was one of the best players ever.
"That story is so important to our culture. He opened so many doors for people of color, and you can't thank someone like him enough. We live like we do now because of people like Jackie Robinson. I know you can't wear it past college, but wearing it now is a tribute. And every day, I think that I want to represent him well."
Nwogu has a bright future in professional baseball and engineering. He's interested in working in software interfacing that interacts with customers: "All of that is really changing and innovating now, and to be part of that would be unbelievable."
Staying home for college has worked for him in every way.
"I've wanted to go to Michigan since I was very young," he said. "My parents worked there and I wanted to stay close to home. I went to an engineering camp during my sophomore year (at Pioneer) and earned a scholarship. I was coming to Michigan whether or not I played baseball."
Baseball was his first "love" in sports.
"Even with the ups and downs of baseball," Nwogu said, "it's exhilarating to play. It's a game that doesn't make me want to quit. It makes me want to work harder. If I go 0-for-4, I'm back in the cage wanting to hit and get better. It's a sport that keeps me so into it, and I love that."
The right-handed hitter with the big OPS, big smile, big grade-point average and big talent is back for at least one more college season, and is one of the biggest reasons for Michigan fans to be excited about what lies ahead.
