It’s no understatement to say that Division III NCAA sports may be the least appreciated medium of athletics in America. The low likelihood of DIII players going pro means that most Americans couldn’t care less about the life of the many athletes populating the DIII system. With such low odds of making it to the ‘big leagues,’ a question arises: what do these players do once they graduate?
Despite being DIII, Occidental has alumni in the sports world, including pitchers Nolan Watson ’17 (starter) and Will Nahmens ’17 (reliever). A common topic of Watson and Nahmens’ interviews was the constant balancing act of being both a student and an athlete at the DIII level.
“The balance it provides in a student athlete’s schedule is really healthy,” Watson said. “A school like Oxy and across DIII in general, you see these students who are taking a much more balanced approach to their schedule. Having that balance and integrating it into your holistic educational experience is a really unique aspect of DIII that I miss. You work hard in the classroom then you go work hard physically, communicate with your team and be a leader. Having that balance is a really unique and useful part of a well-grounded education.”
Reliever Nahmens, who was teammates with Watson during their time at Oxy, held a similar sentiment and gave a broader view into the modern-day landscape of college sports.
“Sports in general end up being hyper-professionalized at a very young age in America,” Nahemens said. “You even see it at the DI level now with NIL and how guys are getting paid. I think it’s really cool just in general that there’s a level of play and competition that still exists and contributes to the lifeblood of the sport that is not as professional as the minor leagues or independent leagues. When someone has an opportunity to continue their playing career past the age of 18 […] being able to do that while getting a quality education is really killing two birds with one stone.”
In Watson’s case, his baseball career after Oxy wasn’t direct. He took a consulting job out of college for a few years before contemplating his next move, always feeling like he had more in the tank. He contacted Oxy baseball alum Matt Mallott ’14, who was coaching a high school team in San Diego at the time. When Watson reached out and asked about continuing his playing career overseas, he was implored to contact Nahmens.
Nahmens’ full baseball story is quite complex. He had played summer ball one summer in college, playing in both Colorado and upstate New York. While playing in New York, Nahmens had a roommate who had a teammate with connections to professional baseball in Berlin.
“You don’t get paid much. Usually, you get a place to live, and amenities and they might pay for your flights over, and to me that sounded more exciting than getting a job straight out of college especially with the initial failures of applying to jobs as you first graduate. I decided that that would be a fun adventure to go on,” Nahmens said.
After an initial failure to play in Germany, Nahmens was able to get a connection to a club in Australia that was willing to give him a shot. Nahmens played there for one season, becoming a two-way player and also serving as the team’s manager. Despite having to re-teach himself how to hit, he was successful enough to earn himself a contract in Sweden. Following that, he played for numerous teams in Australia, Austria, and New Zealand before returning to Austria, where he met his now fiancé. He then spent one season as a player/coach in South Africa, played in Vienna for three years and eventually found his way to the Czech Republic, which is where he plays currently.
Nahmens also currently works as the lead developer of Connected Performance, a company dedicated to building athlete management software systems that track player development. He credits this feat to both his academic experience at Oxy and his playing time overseas.
This epic tale served as inspiration for Watson, who will be the best man at Nahmens’ wedding. Also working with Matt Mallott, Watson reached out to different teams overseas and began to put a recruiting tape together. Through this widespread self-advocating process, Watson ended up landing in France with a team called the Metz-Cometz in Metz, France.
Despite the small scale of the league that he played in, Watson remembers his time in France fondly.
“France is not known for baseball, and for pretty good reason,” Watson said. “Our field was essentially a recreational field […] It’s not big crowds, it’s a very niche thing in France. But you’ve got a ton of talent there, it’s just not deep. That’s part of the reason why they bring Americans from overseas, so those crowds can get bigger.”
Regardless of the small talent pool and relatively minor role of baseball in the French sports scene, Watson found much meaning playing for a club overseas.
“It helps enrich your life in a pretty big way,” Watson said. “I’ve met some of my best friends in the whole world doing this. I’ve grown some of the things I’m most proud of from a personal development perspective from the discipline instilled by it. I think that having a piece of that as my journey has helped develop who I’ve become […] and I think people especially in the DIII level came come to terms with that […] and have gotten to see the game for what it is, as a thing that enriches your life and builds who you are, not just as a way to make a living.”
Matt Mallott ’14, a former Tiger pitcher (2010-2014) currently coaches in the MiLB (minor league baseball) for the Erie SeaWolves: who are an affiliate team of the MLB’s Detroit Tigers. The jump from being a DIII athlete to a professional coach is certainly a big one, and Mallott certainly recognizes the magnitude of his situation.
“It’s still a bit of a shock to me, to be honest,” Mallott said. “It’s still one of those things where I have to pinch myself every now and then, enjoy where I’m at. I still obviously still have aspirations to make the big leagues, but I’m just enjoying where I am right now, being in pro ball and being able to have baseball be my full-time job.”
Mallott said that a lot of the nuance of professional baseball is trickling down to the college level.
“A lot of player development, technology, the same type of philosophies that you see at the highest level of the game have now found their way at the college level, so there’s not that much of a learning curve,” Mallott said. “[At] the DIII level, obviously there’s not as much money […] so it’s a little farther behind, but you start to see some of the same stuff at the DIII level that you do at DI.”
Mallott also spoke on the time management aspect of DIII athletics compared to DI, and his sentiments echoed those of Watson and Nahmens.
“The time management aspect is something that you really have to figure out when you get to college in DIII,” Mallott said. “You’re not having people go to class for you and take notes like at the D1 level. You’re a full-time student, and it’s almost like another full-time job being an athlete. So, [you need] the ability to budget your time and figure out how to get everything done by the time you get into the real world. I won’t say it’s easy, but it certainly feels easier, I think.”
Contact Mac Ribner at ribner@oxy.edu and Ben Petteruti at petteruti@oxy.edu
im not sure where this idea that the french are bad at baseball came from. back when i was a young boy in orleans (the old one) there was one kid who had quite an arm on him. used to bean me in the arm on purpose to get a walk, cuz id always knock em out of the park. but im getting offtopic- i mention this because those pitches hurt man! they were what, 130, 140km/h? we were 12! les enfants! he later moved to america and changed his name to spencer strider, and i hear he’s been doing alright for himself these days. wonder if he still remembers little old me. i bet i could still give him a run for his money if we had a go at it like old times. heh, if only…
Thanks Ben, well written and I appreciate your insight!