HFC baseball player named to Gold Glove team

Jacob Hanoian, a 2017 alumnus of Gabriel Richard Catholic High School in Riverview, received plenty of scholarship offers to play tennis.

The only problem? He wanted to play baseball. But no colleges or universities offered him a baseball scholarship.

Until Henry Ford College found out about him.

For a multi-sport athlete, the decision of which sport to play in college isn't always easy. But Hanoian didn't hesitate. “I had a lot of offers to play tennis, but I prefer baseball. I love baseball,” said Hanoian, of Woodhaven, who played shortstop for the Hawks for two years. “HFC was the only place that gave me that opportunity.”

Rawlings Gold Glove Team

You could say the decision to come to HFC has worked out pretty well. Hanoian was recently named to the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings Gold Glove team for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II.

“When I got the news, it was the happiest I’ve ever been in my entire life!” he said. “I take pride in my defense more than anything. I’ve worked so long and hard to improve my defensive game. To see all of my hard work pay off was really cool. It meant a lot.”

Hanoian earned his associate degree in business administration from HFC in 2018. He will continue his education this fall at Adrian College, where he will also play baseball.