Lacrosse Teammates Pursuing MBAs During Bonus Season

For 2020 senior men’s lacrosse players Jason Zabel (pictured) and Jake Bastien, life in early March 2020 was good. The seniors had helped the team to a No. 8 national ranking and they were two short months away from graduating.

Then the downward spiral began. Bastien tore his ACL in a game against Colorado Mesa, ending his season.

“Just the thought that I couldn’t finish my senior season with the guys that I have been playing with for the past four years was a hard pill to swallow,” Bastien said.

Two days later, everyone’s season was finished due to the Covid-19 shutdown.

“The initial thoughts flowing through my mind were utter disbelief,” Zabel said. “I remember being very vocal with my friends about how much it didn’t feel real. It took over a week of me staying in my KC house for it to fully sink in that we were done.”

At that point, both players moved back to their Minnesota homes to quarantine, their college playing careers complete.

Or were they?

Slowly things started to change for the better, including some new opportunities.

In response to lost seasons, the NCAA declared that outgoing seniors could get an extra year of eligibility should they return to school. Rockhurst Coach Kevin Kelley called seniors in June to offer them a fifth year of playing lacrosse and the chance to attend grad school.

The opportunity for an extra year of eligibility with the chance to continue their education was one extended to student-athletes across Rockhurst's campus and around the country. 

“For me, it was a no-brainer,” said Zabel, who had just graduated with a B.S. in Accounting. “I saw the opportunity to end my lacrosse career the right way, while also knocking out my MBA, as well as reach the credit requirement to sit for the CPA exam. After sitting around doing nothing but working out and looking at screens all quarantine, there was no part of me that couldn’t jump on the opportunity.”

Bastien was planning on returning to Rockhurst anyway, but to serve as a coach. That changed with one phone call.

“The decision was very easy for me,” Bastien said. “I was planning on coming back for my fifth year and being a graduate assistant coach but playing one more year is better.”

Bastien, a defender on the field, also completed his undergraduate degree in accounting in May 2020. A year later he will have his Master of Business Administration.

“Graduate school is a lot different than undergrad,” the St. Cloud native said. “All of the classes are night classes, either in person or online, and they are over three hours long. I will be graduating this spring with my masters and I have accepted a job in Minneapolis with RSM, a public accounting firm.”

The Hawk teammates will continue as teammates this year and beyond as Zabel accepted a position with RSM in Minneapolis as well. The lacrosse midfielder from Rosemount, Minnesota, will become a tax associate in private client services.

“Grad school has been a lot of work, but something I have found to enjoy,” Zabel said. “I plan on finishing my MBA in May 2021, which means I have a full slate of classes the entire year. That has been difficult to manage at times, but I know in the long run it will pay off in a timely manner for me. After I graduate in May I will be moving home to Minnesota and be studying for the CPA exam before I begin working around August.”

In all, four senior lacrosse players returned to Rockhurst for grad school and a fifth season of eligibility. They helped the Hawks to a No. 13 ranking and 3-0 start before dropping a matchup against a fellow unbeaten, Indianapolis, despite the Hawks holding a significant shot advantage in the game. 

Zabel has started three games so far this year and Bastien just got in his first game in a full calendar year after his knee injury.

“This is my last chance of playing a competitive sport; I am excited to continue to give it my all and in hopes of everything going well,” Bastien said.

There’s some truth to clichés: You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, and maybe every cloud does indeed have a silver lining.

For these two seniors, despite the initial shock of a lost season, both will finish their careers “the right way” as accomplished athletes on the field and accounting professionals with MBA’s off of it.

“I am more pumped about this season than any other season here,” Zabel said. “I have more experience, knowledge, and wisdom than I ever have before, which makes playing the game every day an absolute joy of an experience for me.”