On January 27, 2018, the University of Virginia announced their inaugural class of inductees into the Baseball Hall of Fame. This class includes fifteen inductees, those being coaches and team players who have been involved in the baseball program.

Among these players was Jacob Thompson, a THS alumni, and former special education teacher at Tunstall.

In his sophomore year at Tunstall, Thompson was on the mound at the conclusion of the state championship semi-finals against Amherst where the Trojans lost on a walk-off grand slam. Coach Barry Shelton remembers Thompson’s response the following spring after the first team meeting.

“Jacob made the comment that he was going to be upset if we didn’t win at least two state championships his junior and senior years.”

Tunstall did, in fact, go on to win back-to-back state championships behind the pitching of Thompson and Will Inman.  Thompson finished his career at Tunstall with a pitching record of 31-4 with 351 strikeouts and with a 1.2 earned run average.

“In my time as head coach, Thompson and Inman helped lay the ground work for high expectations. In my opinion, there were a lot of little boys who wanted to be like Jacob Thompson. I will always remember what Jacob’s presence did for our baseball program,” said Shelton.

At the conclusion of his senior year, in 2005, Thompson signed to play baseball at the University of Virginia.

“I was really proud and humbled when I signed. It was rewarding to see my family so proud of me. They made a lot of sacrifices through my middle and high school years to make my signing happen,” said Thompson.

Thompson had several options for where he could play in college, but he eventually decided on being a Cavalier.

“It was pretty difficult deciding which college, but once I visited UVA’s campus, I loved the atmosphere in Charlottesville,” he said.

After three years at UVA, Thompson signed with the Atlanta Braves organization where he played for four years until the “living out of the suitcase lifestyle” became too much for him.  He then returned to UVA for a year to finish his degree.

“I loved baseball, but I just wanted to settle down,” he said.

After graduating from UVA with a Bachelor’s in anthropology, Thompson returned to his former high school as a special education teacher.

He remained a Trojan for three years, but eventually was ready for a change.

“I enjoyed helping and being around kids; however, I did not like the classroom setting. I am a pushover when it comes to classroom management, so that is why I chose not to continue in special education.”

Thompson is now a guidance counselor at Dan River High School.

He is also married to his wife, Katie, who is the assistant principal at Stony Mill Elementary.  They have two sons, Liam and Landry. Besides spending time with his family, he enjoys fishing, attending sporting events, and being outdoors. He is also a huge Dallas Cowboys fan.