Pitching ace Kurt Jung of the Stony Brook University baseball team has had his sights set on his future ever since he arrived on campus in 2003. Jung has decided to pursue a career in sports vision and, through optometry, help athletes reach new levels of competition.
"Kurt epitomizes the term student-athlete," said head coach Matt Senk. "Through Kurt's boundless determination, work ethic and drive he has become an exceptional role model to his teammates both on the field and in the classroom. I have no doubt that Kurt will be successful in his efforts to transfer his interest in the field of sports vision to a productive career after graduation."
The Stony Brook senior from Canandaigua, N.Y. will graduate in May with a degree in Health Science and a minor in Business. He has already been accepted to Pacific University's College of Optometry. Jung chose Pacific because they offer an emphasis in sports vision and provide valuable clinical experience as part of their curriculum.
"I have been fascinated to see how vision can not only be assisted in every day life through the general practice of optometry, but also how it can be enhanced for specific needs such as sports," said Jung. "As an athlete myself, I have come to appreciate the value of the importance of sight."
Kurt always knew he wanted to pursue a career in the health sciences, but with his time as a member of the Stony Brook baseball team, he developed his interest in the field of optometry. Jung, who has used visual training tools to prepare for games, has come to understand the importance of vision enhancement. "If you were to ask any hitter why they felt like they had a good day at the plate, they almost always say that they ?saw the ball well’", said Jung. "With baseball being a game of centimeters, eye sight is crucial to a batter’s success. Several players for the New York Mets attribute their success in hitting to their work with the team optometrist."
As he thinks about his future in optometry and the exciting opportunities that lie ahead for him, it is understandable that Kurt gets excited talking about the growing field of sports vision. "As awareness grows about the benefits of eye enhancement and training, athletes that are driven by success will most likely gravitate towards improving the visual aspects of their game," said Jung. "This has the enormous potential to be adopted by anyone that wants to improve their skills on the playing field and I am looking forward to being a part of a profession with the kind of opportunity that can impact athletes’ careers".
Jung has been named to the Dean’s list on seven separate occasions and he currently has a 3.6 overall grade point average. Kurt is a member of Stony Brook’s Society for Distinguished Student-Athletes and posted a perfect 4.0 last semester.
Last year was Jung’s most successful on the field for the Seawolves. He led the team with a 1.08 ERA in 33.1 innings of work. He was the winning pitcher in the Seawolves final regular season game last year as they clinched the No. 2 seed for the America East Tournament. He did not allow a run in 4.1 innings of work in the America East Tournament as the Seawolves finished as runner-up.
Jung is 4-2 so far this year in six starts with 23 strikeouts. He leads the team in wins and helped Stony Brook to a 4-0 start in America East play. With more than 20 games remaining in the Stony Brook baseball team’s schedule, Kurt still has his sights set on conference play and a return trip to the championship game.
Kurt has always had a clear vision of what his future entails and it is clear that once he completes his college career and graduates in May, he will always keep "an eye" focused on the next challenge.