COLUMBUS, Ohio - Former Ohio Dominican Panther junior catcher
Jack Mathey (Copley, Ohio) was signed by the San Diego Padres organization following the 2024 MLB Draft held in Fort Worth, Texas. Mathey signed a undrafted free agent contract after the three-day, 20-round event.
Mathey signs with the Padres following three years in the Black and Gold. The junior backstop totaled a .378 batting average, 94 runs, 142 hits, 35 doubles, 20 home runs, 90 RBI and 31 hit by pitches in 113 games.
He ranks in the top ten among the ODU Division II era for the following categories:
- T-1st: Average (.378)
- 1st: Hit By Pitches (31)
- 2nd: Slugging % (.630)
- 3rd: OPS (1.096)
- 4th: Doubles (35), Home Runs (20), On Base % (.465)
- 7th: Extra Base Hits (55)
- 8th: Total Bases (237)
"I can't thank Coach [Christopher] Antonides enough for the opportunities he provided me and the positions he put me into succeed," said Mathey. "Without the coaching staff, faculty and most importantly my teammates at ODU, I wouldn't be able to have an opportunity to go live out my dream to play professional baseball."
He was named Second Team All-Conference in 2024 while he led ODU with 13 hit by pitches and was second in batting average (.385). He totaled 29 runs scored, 45 hits, 11 doubles, four home runs, 29 RBI and a .581 slugging %. He tallied ten two hit games, three games of three hits and one four hit game.
2023 was Mathey's best year as a Panther. He garnered NCBWA All-American Honorable Mention honors along with First Team All-Region honors from the ABCA and NCBWA and D2CCA Second Team All-Region. He was voted as the Great Midwest Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference.
The catcher led the Panthers with a .401 batting average, 54 runs, 75 hits (tied for team lead), 17 doubles, 14 home runs, 48 RBI and 14 hit by pitches. He had multiple hits in 22 games that season. The backstop reached base in 48 of the 49 regular season games (45 straight games to start, ended with 52 of 53 games on base) and had a 14-game hit streak at one point.
In his first year with ODU (2022), Mathey hit .306 in 25 games with seven doubles, 13 RBI and two home runs.
