Northwestern QB Jack Lausch leaves football team to focus on baseball career
Jack Lausch, who started 10 games for the Wildcats at quarterback in 2024, has left the program to focus on his baseball career, Northwestern coach David Braun said on July 23 at Big Ten media days in Las Vegas.
While balancing two sports last season, Lausch hit .268 with six home runs and nine doubles while starting 43 of a possible 44 games for the Wildcats' baseball team. He was fourth among all Wildcats players in batting average and tied for first in stolen bases, with five.
REQUIRED READING: Big Ten college football power rankings start with Penn State, Ohio State
Coming out of high school, Lausch had originally committed to play baseball at Notre Dame before changing his mind and accepting a football scholarship to Northwestern. He joined the Wildcats' baseball team ahead of last season after playing only football as a freshman.
"He has the potential to be an every-day big league center fielder," Northwestern baseball coach Ben Greenspan said to ESPN in April. "He runs, he throws, he defends, there's power potential. His makeup is elite."
Though he started most of last season for Northwestern, Lausch was unlikely to hold on to the role after the Wildcats brought in SMU transfer Preston Stone, who led the Mustangs to an American Athletic Conference championship in 2023 before losing his starting job in 2024 to Kevin Jennings.
Last season, Lausch completed 53.7% of his passes for 1,714 yards, seven touchdowns and eight interceptions for a Northwestern team that went 4-8. He also rushed for 213 yards and two touchdowns.
"We will miss his leadership," Braun said of Lausch. "Miss having him as a part of the team, but excited and so impressed with everything that he achieved."
The Wildcats open their 2025 season at Tulane on August 30.
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