Central Florida’s John Rhys Plumlee last weekend after hitting a two-RBI triple in a baseball game and throwing two touchdowns in the Knights’ spring game a couple hours later.
Arizona Cardinals QB Kyler Murray is known for winning the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma, but he played baseball in college and briefly with the Oakland A’s.
The University of Northern Colorado has its own budding two-sport star in Zain Zinicola, who plays wide receiver on the gridiron and third base on the diamond.
“It just doesn’t happen as much anymore,” said UNC coach Mike Anderson. “When it does, it’s pretty unique and it’s kind of fun to be able to look at it.”
All of the football coordinators played multiple sports, at least growing up, and emphasized the importance of possessing a diverse skill set.
“Nowadays, you see a lot more kids only doing one sport year-round,” Bears Special Teams Coordinator Justin Walterscheid said. “I think there’s so many lessons that are valuable in the different sports that maybe they’re missing out on those opportunities.”
Zinicola is in his third year at UNC, though he’s listed as a freshman. He attended Valor Christian High School, where he played football and baseball, and graduated in 2020.
He for UNC in January 2020 shortly after the university hired then-head football coach Ed McCaffrey.
The Bears didn’t play that fall due to COVID-19, and the staff redshirted the rookie in 2021 after appearing in four games. Last season, Zinicola finally earned a spot in the regular rotation.
He appeared in seven games, grabbing 38 receptions for 386 yards and two touchdowns.
Zinicola — the first of his career — in the mid-October loss against UC Davis. He totaled 116 receiving yards in the game, in addition to the over-the-shoulder grab.
His of the season came at Portland State in November. He grabbed a 67-yard pass, and it resulted in a touchdown.
Rewind to last summer. Longtime baseball coach Carl Iwasaki with the program. UNC , Iwasaki’s former teammate and alumnus, as the next skipper.
Anderson hails from Colorado and spent three years serving as the Colorado scouting director for Prep Baseball Report, meaning he has contacts in the sport. Still, building a roster in late June isn’t easy. Thatap when he got a phone call from former Highlands Ranch coach Neil Holden.
“He says, ‘Hey, you know you’ve got to put a good player on the football team, if you’d reach out,’” Anderson recalled. “What I didn’t want to do is upset the apple cart with the football coach. With (Ed) McCaffrey, I was gonna wait until the offseason. When things changed, I reached out to Zain and said, ‘If this is something that you’d like to do, I’d have interest in doing it.’ It was more on a tryout basis than anything else.”
Anderson spoke with new football coach Ed Lamb about the possibility, and he supported the opportunity. Anderson called Lamb the “best football coach to work with by far.”
“He is all-in on the student-athlete experience. He asked me, ‘Do you think Zain can help you?’ I said, ‘I do.’ He goes, ‘Let’s go for it. I want a great opportunity for Zain,’” Anderson said. “You don’t hear that very often with football coaches. It just tells you the type of respect that he has for student-athletes.”
The team welcomed Zinicola to work out with the team for 10 days. Anderson said the staff decided in about two that he needed to play baseball again. UNC needed Zinicola’s “quick twitch movements” and overall speed. He’s also a lefty.
The freshman remains rough around the edges since he hasn’t played in so long, but he’s improving.
“That’s the type of young man that we want, who wants to be that competitive,” Anderson said. “It was a given that he was going to make our team and then, hopefully, contribute.”
When asked if he ever expected to play baseball and contribute, the answer was clear:
“Yes,” Zinicola said earlier this month. “I actually hoped it would’ve happened sooner.”
Zinicola came to Northern Colorado with the hope he might get to the plate again. The opportunity hadn’t presented itself until this season, but he’s making the most of it.
His stat line includes multiple positive plays, including 10 runs scored, 11 hits and 11 RBI. Two hits recorded were in the team’s home opener. He’s one of the most effective runners, too, recording five stolen bases on six attempts.
And Zinicola gets to do it with his family in attendance. They showed up to all of the home football games, and the baseball season hasn’t been any different. He said itap nice to have his loved ones around.
Where football is concerned, he’s balancing it well. He typically attends practices on Mondays and gets to as many meetings as possible. Then, the rest of the week is focused on his second sport.
“I’ve mostly been studying the playbook, but they’re keeping me updated,” Zinicola said.
Anderson said he’s pleased with how things are working out, especially since the staff didn’t have a specific position in mind. They tried him at shortstop, second base and in the outfield. He’s settled in at third base.
Some games are better than others, especially at the plate, but Zinicola keeps competing and remains team-oriented. Thatap what matters.
And when football comes around? Fans can expect Anderson to be in the stands, not only cheering on his fellow Bears but one of his “kids,” too.
“Coach Lamb already made me a big UNC football fan, but I’m going to games to watch one of my players,” Anderson said. “I hope other people do that, too — that they look up and say, ‘Man, this guy’s having a great student-athlete experience at UNC with two different sports.’ That’s what I hope they see in him.”
