Michigan State University Athletics
MSU Baseball Feature: Traveling Thompson
5/17/2023 3:03:00 PM | Baseball
Michigan State catcher Sam Thompson started traveling for baseball in high school, and adventure has taken him all over the United States. When the Spartans played at Rutgers this season in Piscataway, N.J., that completed Thompson's playing baseball in all four corners of the Continental US.
Thompson, a native of Georgia, started playing T-ball at the age of three. He grew up being coached by his father, Mark Thompson, and playing for fun with his big brother, Will.
"Pretty much all of my family played baseball," said Thompson. "My older brother, my dad, my uncles and my grandad. So I had a lot of motivation around me."
Since Georgia doesn't experience harsh winters Thompson was able to play year-round.
His older brother, Will, was a huge inspiration for him aside from his father. They spent a lot of time in the basement of their home hitting in the batting cage built by their dad.
Thompson and his brother are four years apart, meaning they never played on the same baseball teams. That was true until Thompson was selected to play in a high school tournament with Will.
"I always watched him growing up as he chased down all of his goals," said Thompson. "So seeing him move on to the next big thing with baseball as he got older motivated me."
Thompson began to travel a lot for baseball during his years at Bremen (Georgia) High, where he was also a four-year letterwinner. He spent a lot of his summers and falls playing in California, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana and the Carolinas.
"I knew from the go, I wanted to travel and play baseball because I thought it was really cool to experience new places," said Thompson. "I also really enjoyed the aspect of being thrown in the mix of a new team of guys."
During his senior year of high school, Thompson was recruited to play at Kent State by a recruiting coordinator who was also a native of Georgia.
While at Kent State, he had the opportunity to play in the Alaska Baseball League for two summers for the Matsu Miners. He stayed with a host family of four: mom, dad, and two brothers.
"My host family was awesome and took me deep sea fishing a handful of times," said Thompson. "My host brothers and I did a lot of hiking in a lot of different locations that were popular there. We still keep in touch, they send me pictures of glaciers and moose all the time."
He graduated last spring with his undergraduate degree in communications.
Following his undergraduate career at Kent State, he still had some remaining playing eligibility and transferred to Michigan State. He said he always wanted to play for a Power Five school.
"Our team really stepped up this year with our goal being to get to the Big Ten Tournament and we're trying to accomplish that," he said. "We've been playing really good baseball, one through nine in our order all over the field."
He is now in a Master's program to earn his graduate certificate in sports coaching, leadership and administration.
"I have a really big family and we're all really close to each other," said Thompson. "So as soon as I'm done I would want to go home and be with them for a while."
Although he would like to travel back home to Georgia to be with his family as he wants to be a part of the milestones to come, he is fine with eventually moving away if the opportunity presents.
After playing baseball and experiencing it in different ways for almost 20 years, Thompson is pleased with knowing that he has put in a lot of greatest years if playing overall comes to an end after college.
"I think for the most part I'm content with going home and rejoining my family and being back in my home state," said Thompson. "I know that I've got a lot of information to pass along baseball wise. In some way, shape and form, I know that I will be involved in baseball for the rest of my life."
Thompson, a native of Georgia, started playing T-ball at the age of three. He grew up being coached by his father, Mark Thompson, and playing for fun with his big brother, Will.
"Pretty much all of my family played baseball," said Thompson. "My older brother, my dad, my uncles and my grandad. So I had a lot of motivation around me."
Since Georgia doesn't experience harsh winters Thompson was able to play year-round.
His older brother, Will, was a huge inspiration for him aside from his father. They spent a lot of time in the basement of their home hitting in the batting cage built by their dad.
Thompson and his brother are four years apart, meaning they never played on the same baseball teams. That was true until Thompson was selected to play in a high school tournament with Will.
"I always watched him growing up as he chased down all of his goals," said Thompson. "So seeing him move on to the next big thing with baseball as he got older motivated me."
Thompson began to travel a lot for baseball during his years at Bremen (Georgia) High, where he was also a four-year letterwinner. He spent a lot of his summers and falls playing in California, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana and the Carolinas.
"I knew from the go, I wanted to travel and play baseball because I thought it was really cool to experience new places," said Thompson. "I also really enjoyed the aspect of being thrown in the mix of a new team of guys."
During his senior year of high school, Thompson was recruited to play at Kent State by a recruiting coordinator who was also a native of Georgia.
While at Kent State, he had the opportunity to play in the Alaska Baseball League for two summers for the Matsu Miners. He stayed with a host family of four: mom, dad, and two brothers.
"My host family was awesome and took me deep sea fishing a handful of times," said Thompson. "My host brothers and I did a lot of hiking in a lot of different locations that were popular there. We still keep in touch, they send me pictures of glaciers and moose all the time."
He graduated last spring with his undergraduate degree in communications.
Following his undergraduate career at Kent State, he still had some remaining playing eligibility and transferred to Michigan State. He said he always wanted to play for a Power Five school.
"Our team really stepped up this year with our goal being to get to the Big Ten Tournament and we're trying to accomplish that," he said. "We've been playing really good baseball, one through nine in our order all over the field."
He is now in a Master's program to earn his graduate certificate in sports coaching, leadership and administration.
"I have a really big family and we're all really close to each other," said Thompson. "So as soon as I'm done I would want to go home and be with them for a while."
Although he would like to travel back home to Georgia to be with his family as he wants to be a part of the milestones to come, he is fine with eventually moving away if the opportunity presents.
After playing baseball and experiencing it in different ways for almost 20 years, Thompson is pleased with knowing that he has put in a lot of greatest years if playing overall comes to an end after college.
"I think for the most part I'm content with going home and rejoining my family and being back in my home state," said Thompson. "I know that I've got a lot of information to pass along baseball wise. In some way, shape and form, I know that I will be involved in baseball for the rest of my life."
Players Mentioned
C
/ BaseballJake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | Feb. 24 2026
Tuesday, February 24
Jake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | Feb. 16 2026
Monday, February 16
Jake Boss | Baseball Press Conference | Jan. 26 2026
Monday, January 26
Pursuit to Greatness | Spartans All-Access
Monday, May 19