Jax Attack: Jax Gimenez leads Whitney Wildcats in baseball and as spirited campus voice
The Jax Gimenez of four years ago bears little resemblance to the current edition.
He’s bigger, taller and stronger at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, and his once-timid nature has given way to all manner of good cheer and confidence. Gimenez is a big man on the Whitney High School campus, but he is not big headed.
He is a giver, a leader, a respected voice, a scholar and a team captain for a powerhouse Wildcats baseball program that entered the season as The Bee’s top-ranked team. The Wildcats, seeded No. 1 in Division II, now seek their third consecutive trip to the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section finals after winning it in Division I in 2022 and falling to Franklin in a thriller a year ago.
Gimenez is an example of what is right about the best of prep student-athletes. He is a 4.0 student, the baseball program’s all-time hits leader with 121, a star middle infielder who wields a mighty bat, the MVP of the power-packed Sierra Foothill League and a scholarship signee to the University of Oregon. He is a young man who has grown in stature while remaining grounded and humble.
“It’s been great to see how far Jax has come,” Whitney baseball coach Jackson Watt said. “He’s gone from a 5-6 freshman, a little guy, when I think his dad Mike was worried (laughs) — now to this, a Division I athlete who looks like a monster.”
Gimenez is so well regarded on campus that he was voted by his student peers to be the “Voice of Whitney.” The role includes serving as the school’s spirit leader, the emcee for rallies in the gym, lunch-time activities and more. On football Friday nights, it was Gimenez who stood on the podium box to fire up the students.
In any venue and setting, Gimenez generally holds a captive audience. He is well spoken, thoughtful and funny.
“I’m trying to do everything I can, to leave a legacy,” Gimenez said. “I love being a spirit leader. It helps distance me from baseball and the expectations and pressure there. I can just be a high school kid.”
The Jax from four years ago to now?
“The freshman me was a lot smaller and a lot more scared,” Gimenez said with a laugh. “I’ve come a long way.”
Son of famed coach
Gimenez has flourished at Whitney with another degree of pressure beyond the notion that he’s the sure thing to succeed in college as a student and player. His father, Mike Gimenez, was the founding football coach at the Placer County school when it opened in 2003, having previously led championship teams at his alma mater at Woodland High.
Under his direction, ending after the 2014 season, Whitney reached the playoffs seven times, including two section finals and one championship in 2008. He bowed out to spend time with his wife, Kimberly, and their three kids — Cade, Kendall and Jax. The kids at the time of their father’s football retirement were ages 14, 12 and 9.
“Jax has had to live up to his dad’s name,” said Watt, the baseball coach. “His dad is a staple on the staff and with the school here. But he’s done a great job. Great kid.”
The bonus, Gimenez the son says, is that his father has a reputation as a cool teacher and coach. Students do not frown at the mention of Mike Gimenez. He teaches sports science at the school and coaches the girls golf team, and he hasn’t lost an ounce of his competitive fire. The son has that fire, too. Father and son have competed in everything from throwing a ball to playing pool to cornhole.
How competitive is the elder Gimenez? Behind the backstop at the school’s pristine baseball facility, there are a number of fundraising squares next to the brick. Two of them are from the Gimenez family, including one listing the graduating year of the three Gimenez children — Cade 2018, Kendall 2020 and Jax 2024. They are right there in the top row.
Cade graduated from Oregon, Kendall is about to graduate from the Eugene school, having also spent time as an intern with the Ducks baseball team, and the youngest Gimenez is on his way.
“There are perks of being here,” Mike Gimenez said with a laugh, pointing to the squares.
“We’re a family of Ducks,” Gimenez, the son, said. “It’s been my dream school. I can’t wait.”
Gimenez said his father’s influence has been profound. His father was a Bee All-Metro quarterback at Woodland in 1985 who also played baseball. He played quarterback on scholarship at Colorado State, leading the program to its first bowl victory in 1990. He later met the girl of his dreams in Kimberly just as he was getting into teaching and coaching.
Gimenez wears jersey No. 7, like his Dad did during his playing days.
“Great father, and he still sounds like a football coach,” Gimenez said. “He’s been my biggest motivator. He’s been where I’ve been. I credit a lot of my work and success to him.”
Leaving a legacy
Gimenez leads Whitney with a .442 batting average, in home runs with four, in doubles with nine, in triples with four, in hits with 42, in runs with 38, in slugging percentage at .747, in stolen bases with 36, in runs with 38 and in general enthusiasm.
He isn’t the only anchor on this team, but he is the most prominent. Other captains are Trajan Rogowski and Luke Oyler, who leads the Wildcats with 34 RBI and collected his 100th career hit in Tuesday’s 11-0 opening-round playoff win over Cordova. Whitney hosts Laguna Creek of the Elk Grove Unified School District on Thursday in second-round play.
Gimenez drew a crowd after the Cordova game, as he often does anywhere on campus. It’s a family event for this tight-knit baseball program, which includes scores of players who grew up together.
When the game was over, Gimenez greeted family, then did his part to help tidy the infield.
A leader leaving a legacy.
▪ For scores, brackets and ticket information for the baseball playoffs, visit the Sac-Joaquin Section website.