2nd LT Jalen Sprull being pinned by his younger brother Jaxson
01-04-2021
Former Claflin University baseball player Jalen Sprull commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, Monday Jan. 4, 2021. Sprull was a member of the Bulldog Battalion of the U.S. Army ROTC, which is comprised of cadets from Claflin University, South Carolina State University and Voorhees College. His active-duty assignment will be with the Chemical Corps.
The road to commissioning was not always an easy one for Sprull.
“Cadet Sprull was able to overcome several obstacles en route to receiving his Commission,” said Bulldog Battalion Recruiting Operating Officer LTC (R) Anthony Watson. “He’s worked hard all four years and did an outstanding job of balancing being a Cadet, student-athlete and student-leader.”
Sprull, a four-year member Claflin University baseball program, finished his career with a .291 batting average and .385 slugging percentage. He recorded 61 RBIs to along with 17 doubles and four homeruns over 103 games played during his career.
Throughout his four years, Sprull was viewed as a model student-athlete by those who worked closely with him.
“Jalen was a solid player and a quiet leader on the field,” praised head coach James Randall. “He’s the kind of player/person you want to keep around your program. He was someone I could always count on. When our top two players went down, Jalen stepped right in and took over the role of leader. He is just an all-around model individual.”
In addition to being a member of the Bulldog Battalion and the Panthers’ baseball team, Sprull was very active on-campus. During the 2019-20 academic year, he served as the President of the Timothy J. Autry Theta Chapter of Chi Alpha Sigma National College Athlete Honor Society and Vice President of the Claflin University Student-Government Association.
Sprull noted, that balancing all the activities was a total team effort. “It took a lot of support from my family, friends and a huge amount of understanding from the leadership of each of the entities in which I was involved. I appreciate the understanding of my head coach, as well as the leadership of the Battalion and University. They knew there would be times I would have to miss events because of my obligations with the other organizations, but they always supported it.”
Sprull, a Distinguished Military Graduate, received his Bachelor of Arts degree with honors (cum laude) in Political Science in the Fall 2020. He will report to Basic Officer Leader Course (BOLC) in Fort Leonard Wood, Mo. on Friday, Jan. 8. His first duty station is set for Fort Hood in Killeen, TX.
Courtesy of Claflin University Athletic Department