Jay Abernathy aims to beat Rickey Henderson on the basepaths
ACWORTH, Ga. (BVM) – North Cobb High School in Kennesaw, Georgia, is one of the top baseball programs in the Peach State, and shortstop Jay Abernathy has been its leader over the past few years. The speedy shortstop led the Warriors to back-to-back state titles, emerging as arguably the best player in the area.
Abernathy is known for peppering the ball all across the diamond, and then for being a menace on the basepaths once he is on. He is as smooth as it gets defensively, making him a complete prospect as he prepares for the next stage in his baseball career.
MLB Pipeline ranks the Georgia native as the No. 122 player in the 2024 MLB Draft class.
The future is bright for Abernathy, but this success did not happen overnight. The goal has always been to play for a long time and he has been working towards that since he was young.
It started with a baseball onesie then transitioned into Abernathy hitting off of a tee at 3 years old. Once he started travel ball at the age of 9, he was enamored with the entire process.
“I fell in love with it,” Abernathy said. “And I haven’t lost any passion for the game at all.”
As Abernathy started playing at higher levels, his talent was hard to ignore. Schools began reaching out to him, but there was one program he had in mind.
Tony Vitello and the University of Tennessee offered him a scholarship, making his decision about his future easy. Abernathy’s cousins, Ralph David and Micah, played football at the school in the 2010s and Jay came away impressed by the atmosphere at Neyland Stadium.
He announced his commitment in August 2022 as a high school junior.
“Just seeing the crowd, I was like, ‘I want to go here,’” Abernathy said. “I had that dream. Being able to accomplish it is one of the biggest achievements of my life.”
That passion has bled into the baseball program as well in recent years as the school is in the process of working on nearly $100 million worth of renovations at Lindsey Nelson Stadium to support the added excitement in recent years.
Tennessee hit a new pinnacle in June, winning its first national championship in baseball.
Abernathy is excited about the opportunity to join a program of that caliber, but he is also excited about the student side of things as well. It is an aspect of his situation that he does not take for granted.
“I’m more than just a baseball player,” Abernathy said. “I’m a student-athlete. Being a student comes first for me because that puts down a lot of principles for yourself. Being able to stay in the books and keep your grades up is really big on my part.”
Abernathy is not guaranteed to make it to campus depending on the results of the MLB draft, but whichever route he takes, he wants to continue his maturation as a leader. Outside of that, he just wants to steal some bags.
“I want to take Rickey Henderson’s spot,” Abernathy said. “I know that’s a reach, but that would be great.”