Data is king in the world of modern sports, and a group of University of Utah students just staked their claim to the throne. According to AtTheU, Kendall Ruth, Josh Southwick, and Douglas Fenwick outplayed over 230 competitors from six countries to take the gold in the SportsMEDIA Technology 2024 Data Challenge for the graduate student category. Their claim to fame? A novel method of crunching minor league baseball data that might just change the game.
Their work, which delved into the minutiae of each pitch to the outcome of every play, gave rise to "scouting reports" that are all about batter tendencies and skills, or the absence of them. It's not just about numbers, it's about using those numbers to elevate player training and inform coaching strategies. The trio is all enrolled in the Professional Science Master’s (PSM) program, which is worth noting because clearly, something in that curriculum is translating to real-world wins.
As obtained by AtTheU, Southwick said, "I graduated with my Bachelor’s in chemistry, and had gotten a job at bioMérieux Salt Lake City. A lot of my peers and coworkers had done the PSM program, and I figured it's time for me to enhance my education, and add on big data and coding skills by getting a Master’s in Data Science."
The PSM program is paying dividends for these students in terms of career development. "PSM shines because of how we learned to communicate. Whether that’s in written form or in a presentation. Part of our success [in SMT] is definitely owed to the fact that we took classes together on how to present and communicate effectively," Fenwick explained, as per AtTheU. It seems the program's blend of hard data skills with soft skills like communication is a winning combination that's as potent as a fastball down the middle.
