PRESS RELEASE
FEBRUARY 2023
Slater named 2023 Tindall Scholarship winner
St. Johns River State College baseball catcher Jack Slater was named the 2023 recipient of the John C. Tindall Endowed Scholarship. The award is presented each year to an individual for demonstrating exemplary work ethic, leadership, and quality performance in the classroom and on the field.
Slater, from Lutz, Florida, is a graduate of Hillsborough High School. He has completed his Associate in Arts degree at SJR State and is currently working on his bachelor’s degree in organizational management. Slater recently signed an NCAA national letter of intent and will transfer to Old Dominion University in Virginia this summer.
As a freshman at SJR State in 2022, Slater played in 36 games, starting 23 of those. He had a batting average of 213 and an on-base percentage of 336. In his 36 games played, Slater did not commit an error, leading the team with a perfect fielding percentage.
In the classroom, Slater continued to excel. He was named to the Mid-Florida Conference All-Academic Team, the FCSAA All-Academic Team, and he was named an NJCAA First Team Academic All-American with a perfect 4.0 GPA.
According to SJR State’s head baseball coach and athletic director Ross Jones, Slater is a leader on and off the field.
“His work ethic and character are among the best of any baseball player that I have had the pleasure to be around in my 30 years of coaching,” Jones said. “Jack Slater very simply exemplifies what every college coach wants in his players. He’s tough, first class and highly principled. Jack is the perfect Viking to win the John Tindall Endowed Scholarship.”
“Jack grew up with baseball in his blood,” Ross continued. “His dad, Tom, has been the driving force in Jack’s baseball career. His mom, Beth, instilled the academic work ethic that has served him so well throughout high school and college.”
The scholarship was established in 2011 in honor of former coach John Tindall, who devoted 30 years to coaching the Vikings through 591 wins and nine Region VIII tournament appearances, placing him in the nation’s top 10 for career wins at the time of his retirement in 1997.
SJR State is home to one of the first baseball teams within the Florida College system. In 1961, the Vikings took the field for the first time and have since dedicated the past 60 years to building a solid reputation for producing superior student-athletes.
PHOTO CAPTION:
Jack Slater was named the 2023 recipient of the John C. Tindall Endowed Scholarship. From left: SJR State Foundation Executive Director Brian Bergen, Carol Pickens, SJR State President Joe Pickens, Jack Slater, John Tindall, Beth Slater, SJR State Head baseball coach Ross Jones, Julia Slater and Tom Slater.
Michelle Sjogren
AVP of Institutional Advancement & Strategic Communications
(904) 276-6814
Susan Kessler
Director of Public Relations and Marketing
(386) 312-4021