Notre Dame pitcher Jack Findlay undergoes Tommy John surgery
One of the most influential figures in Notre Dame getting to the 2022 College World Series is going to be on the shelf for a while. Left-handed pitcher Jack Findlay underwent Tommy John surgery this week according to a post on his Instagram Account.
Findlay’s mother, Sharon, tweeted that her son had the surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS) in New York City on Tuesday. It was performed by world-renowned surgeon Dr. David Altchek, the Co-Chief Emeritus at the HSS. Dr. Altchek is the medical director for the New York Mets and serves as a medical consultant for the NBA. He repaired New York Yankees legendar closer Mariano Rivera‘s torn ACL in 2012
Findlay left a game in Notre Dame’s series vs. Clemson two weeks ago with elbow discomfort. It turned out to be the last game he’d appear in this season. Findlay pitched in 10 games for the Irish with five starts. He had a 3.79 earned run average in 40.1 innings pitched. He still leads the team with 54 strikeouts, and he only walked 11 batters.
Findlay went into the season as the No. 45 overall 2024 MLB Draft prospect according to D1Baseball.com. That number is bound to fall with Findlay not being able to finish this season and with him being questionable at best to make it back for the 2024 campaign. According to the Orlando Orthopedic Center, some pitchers get back on the mound in eight to nine months while it takes others upward of a year following UCL reconstruction surgery.
Notre Dame (23-16, 11-10 ACC) is making a run at the postseason, and the Irish would have certainly liked to have Findlay at their disposal in the midst of it. D1Baseball.com and Baseball America both listed Notre Dame as a member of their most recent NCAA Tournament field of 64 projections this week.
The Irish are up against their former coach, Link Jarrett, and the Florida State Seminoles (14-25, 5-16) at Frank Eck Stadium in South Bend for a three-game series this weekend starting Friday at 6 p.m. ET. Jarrett was at the helm for the Irish from 2020-22 and compiled a staggering 86-32 overall record during that span for the second-highest winning percentage (.729) in college baseball in those three seasons.
Jarrett was instrumental in Findlay’s recruitment to Notre Dame. When Jarrett left to become the head coach of his alma mater last summer, Findlay briefly entered the transfer portal. He seemed destined to follow Jarrett to Tallahassee. Instead, he remained at Notre Dame to help open the Shawn Stiffler era.
