Senior Spotlight: A.J. Nesci

With the cancellation of the remainder of the spring season and the winter championships, at least one Wells College senior spring student-athlete will be highlighted each weekend. Today's featured student-athlete is senior A.J. Nesci from the baseball team.

A.J. is a business major from Syracuse, N.Y., who primarily played in the outfield this past season.

First-year Wells head baseball coach Ryan Stevens had the following to say about A.J., "A.J. was a captain for the team in his fourth year and was very valuable for the team's leadership and the program's success. A.J. got his 100th-career hit early in the season to leave his mark forever. He is a highly intelligent person with a high baseball IQ. We wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavors."

Over his 114-game career at Wells, A.J. had 103 hits, scored 79 runs and batted-in 50 runners with a .281 batting average, .410 on-base percentage and .306 slugging percentage. In the field, A.J. stole 21 bases and had 216 putouts with 179 assists that included 31 double plays with a fielding percentage at .934.

During the shortened 2020 season, A.J. recorded six hits for a .261 batting average, .433 on-base percentage and .304 slugging percentage, while scoring five runs and batting-in three runners during eight games. In the field, A.J. had 11 putouts and five assists and also recorded one stolen base.

A.J. also spent time on the men's basketball team at Wells.

Why did you choose Wells College?

I choose Wells College mainly because I have never really traveled far from home and the distance between Syracuse to Aurora is manageable to go home whenever I needed to. I knew I could further my education and still be able to see my family, which was huge for me in staying in New York for school. The smallness of the school grew on me over the four years and I took advantage of being able to reach out to teachers for help and make friendships that will last a lifetime. 

What is your favorite memory at Wells College as a student-athlete?

My favorite memory as student-athlete has to be making the playoffs for the first time in the baseball program history. Short history, but we made it happen in just the third year of the program, not only did we make it, but we made some noise while we were in it as well. We won the first two games, both games being the visitors, traveling to Penn and Kueka as the lower seed and upsetting them. We just had a bond on that team that was a real, prime example of what sports should be about and we had it on that team.

What are your plans after Wells College?

My plans after college is to take pre-requisite classes and the GRE test to get into SUNY Cortland to earn my master's degree in physical education. One day I plan to be a physical education teacher, most likely in the Syracuse area with the option to coach either basketball and baseball through the district.

What advice would you give to the next person wearing your number?

It's funny because I remember growing up; other guys saying to me, "Enjoy it while you can, it goes by fast." Now, here I am giving the same speech, when it's over it's over man. It hits you all fast, but you cherish moments and friendships you build over years that make you thankful for the path you take. Know that there are a lot of kids out there that wish they could be in your shoes; play with a smile on your face; become a better person both on and off the field. Learn off other people; your teammates are all from different areas unlike in high school, where you're all from the same place and already know them. Take the time to understand each of them and take a little bit from each of them, that will help you become a better version of yourself.

If you had a favorite class during your time at Wells College, what was it and why was it your favorite?

Personally, my favorite class was sports management because I learned the best aspects of life are correlated with sports. Sports was all I was taught growing up, my family is very sports-oriented. As I grew older, I started realizing the bigger picture of things because of sports.  You can almost tie in anything with sports, it's just an area I am very comfortable with.

What will you miss the most about being a student-athlete at Wells College?

For sure the competition, anyone of my teammates know how much I love to compete. I can come off the wrong way; something I've worked on over the years. But they all can tell you that it's love from this side, if you are wearing the same jersey as me during that game regardless of the outcome, I'm going to war with you. But mainly I will miss the bus rides, this is where the memories are made. Nobody 20 years from now is not going to remember the win and losing aspect, but the laughs and jokes. That was something I felt I was good at; I could make a joke on somebody, but they knew it was just me being A.J. and nothing more to it. It was a way for me to get our team to be able to joke on each other, yeah, I come at Dylan a lot, but he knows he can come back at me. I brought up Dylan because, well it's Dylan, if you know you know, love you buddy. #TeamGuy