IU student’s baseball podcast is a hit
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH)– If you know me or follow me on social media, you know how much I love baseball.
I attribute much of my success in life to the lessons I learned on the baseball diamonds while growing up in Queens, New York.
It’s a passion that I’ve passed on to my son, Shea.
As much as I love Major League Baseball — “Let’s go Mets” — I have always been a bigger fan of the guys who most people haven’t heard of yet, the younger players who haven’t “made it.” Most people call them prospects; to me, they’re the future of the game and, like most journalists, I love the back story: where they’re from, how they grew up, who taught them the game, etc.
As a self-described “prospect junkie,” one of my favorite sites is The JKR Podcast, and I’m not the only one.
Jayce Riegling said, “We recently surpassed 50,000 listens a few weeks back. That includes 41,000 listens in the last 12 months as we hit 10,000 mid-November last year. Average listens are up 300% from Season 1.”
Riegling is an Indiana University student who started JKR during his freshman year in 2021.
“I attended Lakeland High School in LaGrange, Indiana. I was a solid high school baseball player but nothing crazy enough to carry me to the next level. I decided to attend Indiana University and focus more on chasing my career aspirations rather than attending a small school for athletics,” Riegling said.
“The motivation came from an Agent Academy I took a few months prior. NFLPA agent Joshua Grady said the best way to build a brand as an aspiring agent was to start a podcast.”
Riegling credited social media and landing big interviews for helping grow his brand.
“Those guests included 2022 MLB draft pick Walter Ford and 2023 MLB draft pick Max Clark to begin Season 2 of the podcast in February of 2022. That summer included many top prospects from local travel organizations like the Indiana Bulls and Canes Midwest. I started the podcast and website to build relationships with top prospects and other influential people within the baseball industry, while also providing unique content for them. I believe by doing this this puts me in a very good position as I near graduation.”
What started as mostly an Indiana-based brand has quickly become nationally known.
“We have top prospects, organizations from all over the country reaching out to appear on the show. Looking back on the last three years, it is very cool to see what we have been able to build. However, I know there is still a lot of opportunity to grow as a brand
“I’d love to take some sort of credit for helping the Indiana baseball scene begin to gain traction on the national level. However, the talent this state has is incredible and it speaks for itself.”
As I’ve written about in a previous article, it’s no secret that Indiana is more known for basketball, but the baseball talent has grown and Riegling agreed.
“Everyone knows the 2024 class is absolutely loaded. Players like Jack Brown, Brayton Thomas, Jayce Lee, Hogan Denny, Cameron Sullivan, Caden McCoy, Ethan Lund, the list goes on and on. I am legitimately curious how many of these guys will play professional baseball at some point in their careers. There are so many guys in the top 500 in the country from the 2024 class alone. However, the 2025 class is just as good.”
For Riegling, what he’s done with the podcast so far is just the beginning. His goals are big, and he’s off to a fantastic start.
“With graduation nearing, that means I am closer and closer to turning full steam into my career. With everything I have done through JKR baseball and my internships so far, I feel as if I am in a good spot. Now, it is time to start capitalizing. I have a few ideas and strategies I am going to incorporate going further with both my agent career and with JKR baseball. I will be grinding to get there while outworking others.”
He’s off to an amazing start. Good luck, Jayce. We’ll be watching.
Jayce Riegling is the podcaster for The JKR Podcast. (Provided Photos)