Junior microbiology major Garrett Jackson is balancing a rigorous schedule as a pre-med student and full-time manager for MSU Baseball—one of the premier programs in the country. He sums up this season as “challenging, exciting and rewarding.”

“In baseball and in medicine you cannot get bored doing the mundane stuff. You have to be willing to do any job the best you can, no matter how small it may seem.”

For the Flowood native, that mindset defines his college experience at Mississippi State.

His days begin in the classroom.

“During baseball season, I usually go to class from 8 or 9 until 11 or 12,” he said. “Then I grab lunch quickly before I head to Dudy Noble Field.”

From there, the work shifts. Practices stretch four hours. Gamedays can last seven or eight hours more. Managers handle countless details fans rarely see: setting up equipment, putting up the American flag in left field and rubbing mud on six to eight dozen baseballs before each game.

“Greatness is expected from the coaches, players and managers,” Jackson said. “I love being part of a team that is working together to accomplish one common goal.”

When team travel interferes with exams, the pressure intensifies.

“The most academically challenging moment had to be last spring semester when I was in Sean Stokes’s Organic Chemistry II,” he said. “I was in Oklahoma for a baseball series the weekend before my second test, and I struggled to find time to study.”

His strategy?

“Communication is key. I try to email my professors as soon as I know I won’t be in class. I have to study harder on the back end trying to catch up.”

What keeps him disciplined is the long game.

“What motivates me is thinking about my end goal of getting into medical school. I know that my GPA matters and that every test and class will affect it.”

That goal began taking shape when he was just 11 years old.

“I first got the idea of pursuing medical school when I went on a medical mission trip to Haiti with my parents,” he said. “I got to see how much medicine and healthcare meant to the people living there.”

He remembers patients waiting all day in line, grateful for care that only came to their communities twice a year. “People were there from all over the surrounding area, hoping our team could help them. The doctors and nurses would try all they could to help, and the Haitians would be so appreciative and thankful. I was able to distribute medicines to the patients who came in and felt like I was contributing just a little bit,” he said. “That made me want to pursue medical school.”

While his future is leaning toward medicine, his roots at Mississippi State run deep.

His father pitched for Mississippi State from 1994 to 1998, competing in the College World Series twice. Jackson grew up hearing stories about the program and coming to games.

This fall, during the baseball alumni game, the significance of that legacy became tangible.

“He was introducing me to guys he played with, and I was introducing him to the new coaches,” Jackson said. “It showed how our connection was a bridge from the past history of the program to the present time of the program and the team.”