Put me in, Coach

He played an astonishing 20 seasons at the highest level in Major League Baseball. He served as CEO/part owner of the Miami Marlins. And for three decades he has been developing young leaders through his Turn 2 Foundation.

Review Derek Jeter’s extensive list of personal and professional accomplishments, records, and awards, and it seems there is nothing he can’t do. Until the topic turns to coaching – college or professional.

“Absolutely not,” says the legendary New York Yankee who received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree at Spring Commencement May 3. “I don’t have the patience.”

There is one caveat: “Before I had kids, I always said if I ever coached, it would be for one of their teams. But I would always pick the worst players. And my team would have the most fun.”

Jeter, whose four young children do not yet play organized sports, presented the keynote address to the Class of 2025 at Michigan Stadium.

“How you approached today, and every day, is a choice — your choice,” he told the graduates. “Your life will ultimately be framed by the choices you make.”

When the stars align

When Jeter signed a national letter of intent in 1992 to play baseball for Coach Bill Freehan’s Michigan Wolverines, he couldn’t have known how fortuitous that choice would be.

These exceptional athletes followed similar paths to major league stardom. Each stayed with one team throughout their playing careers: Freehan with the Detroit Tigers; Jeter with the New York Yankees. Each smashed records, won the World Series, and cultivated a devoted fan base. And each left U-M early to pursue professional baseball.

So, in 1992, when the New York Yankees came calling for the NCAA’s most coveted recruit — his recruit — Freehan knew how to handle the scenario. He’d lived it himself in 1961.

“I remember when I got drafted,” Jeter says, “Coach Freehan said, ‘My recommendation would be for you to go play,’ because it would have been selfish of him to just think about the university and himself. He was the best. I loved him.”

Good times

Most Tigers fans associate Freehan (1941-2021) with a jubilant photo by Tony Spina after the Detroit Tigers won the 1968 World Series. Spina’s now-iconic image, originally printed in the Detroit Free Press, shows Freehan catching pitcher Mickey Lolich in a joyful, airborne embrace. The image buoyed the beleaguered citizens of Detroit after the fiery and tumultuous summer of 1967.

Jeter missed that part of the Freehan story. He was born in 1974, a New York fan by nature — many of his mother’s 13 siblings lived in New Jersey where he spent the summers with a Yankee-crazed grandmother; and a Detroit fan by nurture — his father’s contribution. The rising Hall of Famer formed his own impression when Freehan began scouting his high school games in Kalamazoo. The Tigers catcher, who completed his Michigan degree in 1966, coached the Wolverines from 1989-95.

“He was so calm,” Jeter says. “He just had a presence about him, you know? When you saw him, you just knew he was someone important.”

It was Freehan’s demeanor that drew Jeter to play for Michigan, and it was Freehan’s guidance that led him to leave the University before he ever played shortstop in an official college game.

“Sometimes, the coaches or the universities put a lot of pressure on you to go there; he didn’t really do that,” Jeter says. “I always appreciated that he was honest with me.”

Enduring passion

Though his career as a student-athlete was cut short, Jeter says his time in Ann Arbor prepared him to survive in New York as very young Yankee. His experience here, both at Couzens Hall and off-campus, left him with lifelong friends and enduring lessons.

“As of today, all of you have made it further in school than me,” Jeter told the Class of 2025. “These past few years have been some of the best of your life. This place and the people who supported you have helped shape who you are. You will always be a Michigan Wolverine.”

Two Michigan Wolverines in the crowd that day — August O’Neil and Klaire Hamming — were supported and shaped by Jeter himself through his Turn 2 Foundation and its signature Jeter’s Leaders program. Founded in 1996, the four-year personal development program targets high-school students in underserved communities who aspire to a college degree. Students apply and interview to join; once accepted, they commit to four years of extracurricular programming that emphasizes leadership, mentorship, volunteerism, social change, and health and well-being.

“I get emotional just thinking about the lessons I’ve learned: accountability, empathy, communication,” says O’Neil about his time with Jeter’s Leaders. “I found my voice. I learned to speak up for what I believe in, even when it would’ve been easier to stay quiet. I learned to listen and make sure every voice in the room was heard. Those lessons have stayed with me.”

O’Neil graduated with a bachelor’s degree in psychology May 3 and credits Jeter’s foundation with helping him develop the maturity and perseverance to overcome obstacles as a struggling college student.

“It taught me how to take one step back and still find the strength to take two steps forward — something I had to do over and over again in the University of Michigan’s highly competitive environment,” O’Neil says.

Opening up

Coping with academic pressure is one thing for college students. It’s even more challenging, Jeter says, for student-athletes to bear the vitriol and criticism spewed from social media’s toxic pipeline. In 2014, he launched the Players’ Tribune, an online platform forum for athletes to share their personal struggles and victories. Jeter credits the NBA’s Kevin Love for starting a significant conversation that has gained momentum ever since.

“He spoke about mental health when it was still taboo,” Jeter says. “And I think he really broke the mold.”

As he prepared to address the Class of 2025, Jeter emphasized one of life’s cruel truths, which he internalized early as a highly competitive person.

“Sports teaches you about failure: bottom line,” he says. “I don’t care how good you are. I don’t care what sport you play. It’s important to surround yourself with people who are going to support you and be there for you — because you will fail. And you will have to deal with it.”

Road to success

Dealing with victory is a lot more fun, though. As Jeter landed in Detroit from his current home base in Miami, he saw a social media post regarding another Turn 2 Foundation alumnus. The Detroit Lions had just drafted Anthony Tyus III, a running back from Northwestern University and Ohio. Tyus, another thriving Jeter’s Leader, grew up in Portage, Michigan, not far from Kalamazoo.

Jeter humbly accepts the well-deserved praise for the positive example he continues to set with his life. As always, he circles back to his parents who provided the loving guidance he needed to navigate his high-visibility failures and record-breaking achievements. His mother is an accountant while his father is a drug and alcohol counselor; today both parents serve on the Turn 2 Foundation board of directors. Jeter’s sister (and fellow shortstop), Sharlee Jeter, is president of the nonprofit.

During his presentation at Michigan Stadium, Jeter found them in the crowd and waved from the dais. “My parents were always there,” he says of his unwavering support system. “They always taught us, you can have a legacy on the field, but it’s the legacy you leave off the field, your impact on others, that you will be remembered for.”

 

(Lead image: Legendary New York Yankee Derek Jeter received an Honorary Doctor of Laws Degree at Michigan Commencement May 3, 2025. Image credit: Michigan Commons.)