Get to Know JC Pacheco: 

Tell us about the decision-making process for your commitment? How excited are you to play there?

- The process was stressful. I found myself pressing at times throughout the summer trying to open eyes to get as many options as possible and at times i found myself not having fun because of the pressure i put on myself. Eventually I realized again that this is the game I love and it's supposed to be fun, not stressful. One of my highschool coaches helped me realize this process only happens once, so it's best to enjoy it because it'll never happen again in my life at this age. So from that point on, I did. I'm insanely excited to play at ASU. Hopefully I get a couple million reasons to not reach campus in a year and a half but if I don't I know it's the best place for me to thrive. The pro-side of ASU is insane. Almost all of the coaching staff has played or coached at the professional level and 16 MLB spring training complex are right near by the campus. They made me feel like I was the priority. ASU was beautiful and I feel it's the best place to develop me and help me reach my goals as a person and player.

If you were a baseball scout and just watched yourself play, what would that scouting report?

- Huge 5 tool player potential if he can develop more speed and aggressiveness on base paths. - speed needs to develop -Smooth left handed swing that can drive the ball forcefully to all fields. -Line drive approach -Exceptional plate disciple but can be too patient at times - Very good bat speed - would like to see more coil/negative movement - Has easy juice and will continue to gain power as he continues to fill out his strong frame - very fluent, efficient, advanced defender - quiet glove with sound efficient footwork - no wasted fielding movements - plus arm that is accurate from any arm slot - good angles taken to the ball with good range to go with - Tools to be a future Gold glove caliber defender - has tools to stick at shortstop at higher levels - high level IQ player - has feel for the game - great, well spoken leader - passionate player, not flashy

We are knee-deep into the off-season schedule. Tell us about your training, and spring preparation.

- During the off season I am doing strength and condition at Ps2 with Jared. He's taking care of all my weight lifting, plyometrics, mobility, etc. I do mobility and stretching 5 days a week at home through my routine. All fielding and hitting is with my dad. We go to my uncles facility whenever I need to hit with him. Most of the time I go hit with some teammates at Complete Performance in Totowa (Gambs Facility). He usually has room for us after school so we usually go at least 5 times a week not only to hit but we field there as well. I absolutely love defensive work so I have my own routine and I catch ground balls in my backyard practically every day no matter the weather.I journal every night to write out my goals and see them visually as well as talk about what needs to be done to get where I wanna be. I also read the Bible every night because it helps me strengthen my relationship with the Lord and that ultimately helps me perform on the field as well. I wanna be a vessel for him to use. I do visualization about 4-5 times a week to visualize my goals and as a way of focusing on my body and how I feel.

Name three goals for the upcoming season.

- 1. State, County, Conference Champions

- 2. Gatorade Player of the Year in NJ

- 3. PBR Player of the Year in NJ

Do you have any pregame superstitions?  

- I have to do my stretching routine before every single practice and game. It's the same routine that ends with the same song playing in my headphones. Then afterwards I also do the team stretches. I also have to do my visualization with white noise in my headphones before every game and practice. Helps me focus on the task at hand. My biggest one is probably playing with this special rock in my pocket that my sister gave me. When I was on the USA national team in 2023 we were playing our tournament in the DR. My family was down there but they had to leave before the championship game. So my little sister found this little rock, colored it my favorite color, blue, and gave it to me. I played the championship game with that rock in my back pocket and I hit 2 oppo homers in the chip and we ended up beating Puerto Rico and winning the whole thing. Ever since that moment I've played every game with that rock in my right back pocket and I can't play without it.

Who is the best player you have played against in your high school career so far? What makes that player so good?

- Will Kirk is the best player I've faced throughout my highschool career. Going lefty lefty off of him was tough. The ball zipped out of his hand and looked way harder than the low 90s the radar said he was throwing. My last at bat i got three straight front door breakers that was tough to pick up. He had some overpowering stuff with a sharp breaker to go with.

Who would you say your baseball role model is? Why?

- Fransisco Lindor is my favorite baseball player. I can't count how many times I've sat and watched his defensive film. Ive studied his fielding for hours. All his movements, how efficient he is, etc. I try to model my defense around him. His efficiency is insane. He has no wasted movements and each part that moves to catch a ball is needed. It's poetry in motion. I don't like to watch the "WOW" plays, I like to watch the routine ones because those are the plays that are unappreciated. I want to become perfect in making those plays. I can watch him field all day and I can talk about defense all day. I pride myself on my defense. Best defensive shortstop in the MLB. Offensively I just wanna be myself. I love how Juan Soto and Yordan Alvarez swing it, but I want to be my own hitter and have my own style.