Jim Jarvis on playing for Alabama: It's impossible to get homesick because this place is family

A shocking 22-5 loss to Wake Forest on Sunday put an end to Alabama‘s season as they dropped the first two games of their Super Regional series with the Demon Deacons. Elimination from postseason play marks the end of the road for Alabama’s seniors including shortstop Jim Jarvis. And after the game, the San Diego native reflected on his journey to Tuscaloosa.

“Well honestly I didn’t really have that many other options,” Jarvis said. “I had one other offer out of high school and I was gonna go to a JUCO, but I really wanted to play in the SEC and I got really lucky that the coaching staff here took a chance on me and I’m really appreciative of them for allowing me to play and giving me a bunch of opportunities.”

Jarvis made the most of his opportunities throughout his career at Alabama, establishing himself as one of the best infielders in the conference earning SEC All-Defensive Team honors this season and being named as a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award given annually to the best college baseball shortstop of the year.

There’s no doubt that Jarvis took care of business on the field during his career, but the bonds he made off the field are what stand out most to him when he looks back on his career.

“I can’t really put it into words, but just really thankful for the opportunity to get to play with my best friends. But aside from just the team, like he was saying, the supporting staff and everything, I became pretty good friends with pretty much everyone that was around the program and they’re like the greatest people I’ve ever met,” Jarvis said. “You walk around the corner anywhere in our stadium and there’s a friendly face to have a conversation with.”

The Alabama family took the California kid in with open arms, and as a result, their prolific infielder now has a home away from home forever.

“I used to to get asked if I’d get homesick being 30 hours away from home or whatever it is, but it’s pretty much impossible to here just because everyone here is family, everyone’s looking after you and checking in on you. This is a place I can for sure call home for the rest of my life,” Jarvis said.