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Cicero-North Syracuse High School led Rome Free Academy 10-9 in the bottom of the seventh inning on April 26, 2023. RFA was down to its final out when a routine ground ball was hit to Jaden Zimmer at short stop. Zimmer mishandled the ball, allowing two runs to score as CNS lost the game.

It was a moment to forget for Zimmer, who at the time was in his first full season on varsity. Still, CNS head coach Stephan Bailey remained confident in Zimmer’s abilities.

“You worry that someone as young as (Zimmer) may not react well to adversity. But he’s the type of kid that’s able to brush that off and respond,” Bailey said.

Zimmer didn’t let the play affect him. He finished the season as one of the North Stars’ best hitters, per Bailey. As a sophomore, Zimmer blossomed into a hitting machine for CNS. He started all 22 games in 2023, accumulating a .372 batting average while reaching base in all but one game. Even as an underclassman, he led the team in extra-base hits. Now, Zimmer is the heart of CNS baseball.

When Zimmer made the error, his team rallied around him. Once he saw the way his teammates supported him despite his mistake, it only boosted his confidence.

“I felt like this moment brought us together because it signaled that everyone trusted me, and my teammates picked me up,” Zimmer said.

As a freshman, Zimmer spent most of his time on junior varsity. Prior to a game in May toward the end of the season, Zimmer expected to see his name penciled into the lineup. That’s when he received an unexpected call from then-CNS coach Kevin Rockwell. He revealed to Zimmer that the then-freshman would spend the rest of the season at the varsity level, a significant accomplishment for such a young player.

“It was a bit of a shock, especially since I heard (Rockwell) didn’t pull up many kids (to varsity) as freshmen,” Zimmer said. “It definitely helped my confidence, because when you are pulled up as a freshman you are like, ‘Wow, this is amazing.’”

CNS’s upperclassmen made the adjustment easy for Zimmer by bringing him in with open arms. It was a welcome sight for Zimmer, who wanted to play varsity baseball since he was 5 years old, per his mother, Stacy Uzunoff.

Hailey Hoang | Design Editor

At the beginning of his varsity career, Zimmer went through growing pains but always was a hard out at the plate with his strong bat-to-ball skills.

Over the years, he’s played on various travel teams like the Syracuse Lightning, which featured the all-stars from the North Syracuse Little League. Stacy noted that when he was younger, Zimmer lacked aggressiveness. With Zimmer’s success at a higher level over the past couple of years, she’s noticed an uptick in that department.

This past summer, he played on a local travel team, MAD baseball, to enhance his skills ahead of his junior season. Now an upperclassman, Zimmer can use his experience to his advantage as he looks to meet high expectations from Bailey.

CNS starts its offseason lifting sessions in November, but Bailey has seen Zimmer in the weight room almost every day this fall. After the new year, the North Stars will begin to ramp up hitting and fielding. Though Zimmer has already gotten ahead of the curve.

“For me, training started the minute the season ended,” Zimmer said. “I’ve been getting infield work in and going to the cages almost every day.”

For the last few years, Zimmer has shifted between shortstop and second base. This year, however, he’ll primarily play shortstop, according to Bailey. The coach said Zimmer sees the game better from that position, with a wider lens of the field and more productivity.

Last season ,Zimmer and CNS came up short, falling 8-3 in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Section III Class AAA playoffs to Christian Brothers Academy. The Brothers scored six runs across the final two innings to defeat CNS. Zimmer reached base three times and drove in a run, but it wasn’t enough.

Zimmer’s eyes are set on avenging that loss heading into 2025.

“Our goal is stagnant, it’s always to win a championship,” Zimmer said.

Published on October 20, 2024 at 10:23 pm

sabrod@syr.edu