Jack DeRose spent his childhood as a die-hard St. Bonaventure Bonnies fan, never imagining he’d one day wear the Brown and White. The sophomore walk-on, who grew up minutes from St. Bonaventure’s campus in Olean, New York, has gone from cheering in the stands as a kid to hearing the chants of “We want Jack!” echo through the Reilly Center.
“It’s a dream come true,” said DeRose. “I didn’t think about (walking on) until I started to take basketball seriously.”
DeRose had some colleges recruiting him throughout high school but never secured a big college offer. Then, once his high school basketball career started to wind down, he decided to go for it.
“I emailed someone from basketball operations in December of my senior year,” said DeRose.
His walk-on process was different from others. Since he lives locally, his name was already well-known in the area. He used to workout with St. Bonaventure head coach Mark Schmidt’s son. DeRose attributes Schmidt’s familiarity with his skill level as an important factor during the process.
“Schmidt knew who I was. He’s watched me play and was familiar with my skill level,” said DeRose.
After DeRose reached out to the St. Bonaventure coaches, the coaching staff contacted his high school coach to check up on his grades and work ethic. Once those came back good, he furthered his talks with the team to see if this was a real possibility.
“I didn’t even have to send film, and they didn’t come to any games,” said DeRose about his walk-on process.
DeRose didn’t even have to try out, since he and Schmidt were familiar with each other.
DeRose has high praise for Schmidt, saying how his work ethic has led him to be the best Bonnies’ coach in history. He explained how Schmidt works tirelessly to prepare the team for games. DeRose really values his relationship with his college coach.
“I love picking his brain about the sport of basketball. He’s a great coach and an even better guy,” said DeRose.
After the 2022-23 season, walk-on Tyler Curran transferred out of the program. This opened a spot for DeRose. After consideration from the coaching staff, they offered him the walk-on spot. It took little hesitation from DeRose to accept the offer.
“I’m in my second year and I’m just now putting things into perspective and how amazing this is,” said DeRose.
It’s hard to attend a Bonnies’ game where, at least once, you won’t hear the crowd chanting, “We want Jack! We want Jack,” especially if the team is up by a large margin.
DeRose truly is a hometown hero and the pride of this Bonnies team.
