It takes a certain kind of person to overcome the stressors of being a multisport athlete. Jack Slightom ‘26 does not just “surpass;” he thrives, giving his all into everything he does, varsity football coach Jon Beutjer said. 

This past fall, Slightom was the quarterback and captain of the varsity football team. Currently, Slightom is pitching for the varsity baseball team and is committed to playing Division 1 baseball at the University of Cincinnati next fall. 

“I am extremely proud of the accomplishments I have made in football, especially because I started so late,” Slightom said. “I am proud that I picked it up so quickly and had two exceptional seasons, going 11-0 last year and 8-3 this year.”  

Nothing compares to football because there is no other sport that has such a wide range in size and athleticism from person to person, Slightom said.

“Jack has made a tremendous impact on our football program because his story is very unique,” Beutjer said. “He is a great example of someone who stayed with the program, worked hard, stayed committed, and great things really happened for him.”

Slightom has excelled in both baseball and football, but in football, Slightom holds the second-highest pass percentage in school history. He had a completion percentage of 64% this past season and 63.6% for a career, but achieving these feats was not easy, Slightom said.

“With my travel team, I would fly out to pitch on Sunday and fly back Sunday night, then get ready for football the next Monday morning,” Slightom said. “Sometimes I would pitch on a Sunday after a Saturday night football game, which became pretty difficult on my body, so it was tough being a multisport athlete in that way.”

Slightom has strengthened his pitching throughout his time at LT, averaging 92 mph on his fastball, resulting in countless strikeouts per game, Varsity Head Coach Kevin Diete said. Slightom’s skill has earned him a spot on major league draft boards, with scouts from different teams attending games to witness his intense play, teammate and pitcher Evan Gardner ‘27 said.

“Jack has made a strong impact on younger players like me by teaching us more about the game of baseball,” Gardner said. “He helps us better develop our skills and motivates us to advance in the weight room as well.” 

Last year, Slightom was working on three different pitching styles, having the velocity but needing to perfect his accuracy, Diete said.  This season, he has shown significant improvement in his accuracy and in crafting the types of pitches he throws, Diete said. 

“I think his size alone [6’5”] helps him stand out amongst our team,” Diete said. “But in addition to that, his character: He is just a very even keel guy; if something is not going well, you can’t even tell. He keeps that even keel mentality that you probably need as a pitcher, especially advancing to where he wants to go, which is professional baseball.” 

Over the past eight years, Slightom has enjoyed all his time playing with his teammates on Top Tier, his travel baseball team, Slightom said. Also, he highlighted his favorable time playing with the Cincinnati Reds scout team this past fall, which searches for players in Midwest areas for a possible major league career. 

“What motivates me is always striving for what my younger self always thought he could do,” Slightom said. “So my younger self is what keeps me pushing and driving to try to play the best I can.”

Slightom believes that since baseball is such a big game of failure, you try to find every way to find a little win, Slightom said. Currently, he is looking forward to majoring in business and data analytics at the University of Cincinnati next year, with his last regular-season game having been the Downers Grove North match on May 19.