Junior Jake Calloway recently committed to become a Nittany Lion, at Penn State, to continue his academic and athletic career as a Nittany Lion.
Penn State, located in State College, PA, is a public university in Pennsylvania known for strong programs in engineering, business, and agriculture and it’s large alumni network. Penn State has a large campus with lots of 70.000 undergraduate students. The men’s lacrosse team was ranked 3rd in the Big Ten’s preseason poll in 2024.
Jake chose Penn State because he really liked the welcoming and the facility.. He said, “I loved the feel of everything from the second I got on campus. I almost can’t describe the feeling. The coaches were awesome during the recruiting process and continue to show interest still. The players I met when I was there were awesome. They were super welcoming and I felt I wanted to be a part of their family. I also love the location and the football atmosphere Penn State offers. Lastly they have a great business program and could see myself doing that in the future.”
During the commitment process, Jake had four calls in the first night alone. He said, “I kind of knew that the process was going to be stressful, but I didn’t know that it was going to be as stressful as it was. When it hit 12:00 AM, September 1st, it was insane. I had four calls that night and tons of messages. The next day I was on calls with coaches from noon to 8:30 PM. It felt like the longest day of my life.”
However, Penn State was the one who rose to the top. He said, “The coaches at Penn State showed how much they really value their recruits which I respected.”
Committing this early, Jake feels will help him as a leader. He said, “I don’t think it will affect me as a player but I think it will affect me as a leader. I think that the younger kids on the team will hopefully look up to me and I can be a great leader for them.”
He has played since he was a little kid and looks forward to playing in his future. He said, “I was in 1st grade when I started playing and have had a strong passion for it since then. I have always dreamed of playing high D1 lacrosse from the second I started playing. I feel great to have accomplished that.”
Another selling point for Jake were the players. He says, “I look up to Lucca Dibartolomeo for a few reasons. Number one is that he is undersized and plays with a chip on his shoulder and I think I am similar in that category. When I was talking to the Coach he told me that I remind him a lot of Lucca. Lucca also plays very physically which I also do.”
