"Leadership is something that you always think of as 'coming from the top'. But we were successful last year because leadership came from everywhere on our team. A leader on our team is anyone who can help rally the guys together and point the team in the right direction."
To the outside observer, Jake Noviello '22 was not the typical leader for Fairfield Baseball heading into the 2021 season. An underclassman pitcher who served as the team's midweek starter in 2019 and missed the Covid-shortened 2020 season due to injury was far from a standout on a roster with 16 seniors and graduate students.
But as that magical spring began to unfold for the Stags, Noviello established himself as one of the driving forces behind Fairfield's unprecedented success – with his voice, his attitude and, of course, his right arm.
On the mound, Noviello tied a program record with nine wins as a part of his 9-0 record. He ranked fourth in the nation with a 1.47 ERA and a 0.88 WHIP en route to All-MAAC First Team and ABCA/Rawlings All-Region Second Team honors. Noviello was also the pitcher of record for the Stags' first-ever NCAA postseason win.
On the days that Noviello didn't take the hill, his contributions were far from over. Always the first to grab a clipboard and chart pitches – a job usually reserved for the younger Stags and not an All-MAAC hurler – and one of the first out of the dugout to offer a high five in celebration or a fist bump in support to his fellow pitchers heading back from another inning of work, Noviello's voice rings out from the dugout at Alumni Diamond just as loudly as his fastball popping the catcher's mitt for a third strike.
Off the diamond, Noviello is also a leader on campus as co-president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. Initiatives during his time on the executive board have including the annual talent show that raises thousands of dollars for local charities, and the "Stags Vote" initiative in the fall of 2020 that saw every eligible Fairfield student-athlete register to vote.
