After seven years of professional baseball, GCU online degree propels new career for Jacob Gonzalez at McCarthy
The predawn alarm is familiar to Jacob Gonzalez.
In high school, he and a group of baseball buddies worked out in his parents’ backyard around 5 a.m. His dad ran practice, while his mom made breakfast before they headed to school. Now, the 28-year-old Gonzalez gets up at 3:45, and by about 4:15, he’s on his way to a Phoenix construction site. At this early hour, not even his pup bothers to follow him down the stairs anymore.
Moving from backyard workouts to a school renovation project, he carried forward the same early morning routine and eagerness to learn. On Thursday afternoon, Gonzalez will walk at Grand Canyon University’s fall commencement, celebrating the Bachelor of Science in Business Management degree he completed in August while starting a new career in construction.
“I gave everything I had while doing (baseball),” he said. “And then pretty much right after it ended, then it was like, all right, now I’m going to figure out the next steps. … I knew that if I pivoted and put that same effort into a different category or lane, that I felt like I could create a new avenue and be successful.”
Since he can remember, Gonzalez’s days revolved around baseball. This journey took him from a top high school prospect at Chaparral High to seven years of professional baseball, beginning with the San Francisco Giants organization. He was drafted in the second round, 58th overall, in the 2017 MLB Draft.
The change from baseball to construction has been a new kind of challenge. So has earning a degree from the Colangelo College of Business through GCU’s online program while pursuing a field he had never worked in before.
Big challenges always have driven Gonzalez, even when navigating the expectations that come when pursuing a baseball career as the only son of Arizona Diamondbacks legend Luis Gonzalez.
He always has remained steadfast and focused, even when his dreams began to shift.
Today, as a senior project engineer with McCarthy Building Companies, he begins his workday walking a job site, checking in with crews and tradespeople, and making sure they have what they need. He’s helping renovate Metro Tech High School – located just a few miles south of where he will celebrate commencement Thursday – an active campus in Phoenix.
His degree was a ticket to advance at McCarthy. Upon finishing his final course in August, he was promoted to senior project engineer.
“Being able to bring in my diploma and show them, ‘All right, I’m all done with school,’ and then to celebrate that with the team” was especially meaningful, he said. “Without my Grand Canyon University degree, I wouldn’t have been able to achieve either position.”
His final spring training came in 2024, after his contract with the Phillies ended. He had put most of his life into baseball, but knew he was ready to consider a different future. Having jumped straight from high school to the pros, he began processing starting over.
He talked the decision through with his wife, Franchesca, his parents and mentors. His father played 19 seasons in the major leagues and was inducted into the Diamondbacks Hall of Fame. Baseball was a family inheritance and a shared language, though Jacob said his family supported him as he began looking for a new direction.
“When that path ended for him, he wanted to be the best he could be at going to school and getting his degree, and then working in construction,” Luis said. “He’s very motivated and driven when he has something or a plan that he wants to get done. He’s not going to give up on it. He’s going to give you maximum effort in everything that he does.”
Jacob had no college experience and little professional experience outside baseball when he began considering what came next. Grand Canyon’s online program appealed to him because it would let him study while working. He chose business management, a degree he felt could help him understand how decisions affect an organization, from an individual project team to the company as a whole.
McCarthy’s innovative partnership with GCU, which now includes industry-specific pre-apprenticeship programs in construction, manufacturing and the like, was also attractive. After starting classes in 2024, he soon began his career track at McCarthy in its renewable warranty division.
He quickly moved into the company’s education business unit, work he said appeals to him partly because its results are tangible and local. At Metro Tech, he sees the excitement when students and staff return to completed spaces.
“Seeing them smile and be happy with their new spaces” is gratifying, he said.
Next week he’ll start a new project at the Tolleson Learning Center.
The combination of job and school meant long days. Jacob would work through the day, then open his computer at night to study, leaving time for dinner and his wife. He said Franchesca understood the commitment and supported him as he pushed to finish his degree.
Baseball, he believes, helped prepare him for the pace and teamwork. On a construction site, people with different skills and responsibilities have to work toward a shared goal.
Luis also sees skills from baseball carrying into construction: teamwork, problem-solving and the instinct to figure out how to get a job done. He visited Jacob at the site and met the crew. The site visits also gave Jacob a chance to turn the tables on his dad. Jacob set him up with a hard hat that didn’t fit and a safety vest that was too small – a “rookie trick,” as Luis put it.
For dad, the most important measure of the career change is that his son is happy in it.
Jacob is one of triplets. He has two sisters, Megan and Alyssa.
“I’ve always liked to be busy or learning something new,” said Gonzalez, who spent much of his life being a leader, even in the home as a kid while Luis was on the road. “I knew that I was ready to tackle something else and give something else another opportunity.
“To be able to have a direct impact on the community is pretty awesome.”
The GCU courses, Jacob said, established business principles, while the group work gave him practice collaborating with people whose experiences differed from his own. Gonzalez also credits the Lopes community with making him feel supported.
“From the day that I walked in the door, from admissions to my counselor, to each of my professors throughout the different courses, everybody treats you well, and you know that you’re well taken care of there. You know that you will not be lost in the shuffle,” he said.
“And in each of the courses, you get different conversations or topics in which Christianity and faith are discussed amongst students and your professors. I think that’s amazing.”
Luis agreed.
“When Jacob said he wanted to go to GCU to get his degree, I was pretty excited for him. Grand Canyon (University) kind of has a special place in my heart because of Jerry (Jerry Colangelo, sports executive and GCU Board of Trustees member).
“We took a tour of the campus, and I knew Jake was all in. He was fully invested once he went there and saw everything that was going on, even though he did online (classes). … It is a good Christian school.”
His father has watched the same determination carry from baseball into school and construction. Luis said Jacob always has been a dedicated student and athlete, and that he saw his son work early mornings on site before coming home to schoolwork. He said Jacob’s willingness to work hard, solve problems and contribute to a team has served him in his new career. Seeing Jacob motivated and happy in his new career, Luis said, has made him and his wife, Christine, proud.
For now, Jacob plans to stay close to family in Phoenix and keep learning from the people around him. He wants to make the most of the opportunities at McCarthy and see where they lead, now forging his own path in a new career.
“I love learning, to be honest,” he said. “I wanted something that would just offer me endless learning opportunities. That’s exactly what I got at GCU and McCarthy. … I’m just extremely thankful for the opportunities that GCU provided and the experience that I had there, and I’m excited to see where my GCU degree can take me in the future.”
GCU News senior writer Jason Gonzalez can be reached at [email protected].
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Also from commencement:
Slideshows: Wednesday morning Wednesday afternoon
Livestreams: Wednesday morning Wednesday afternoon
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GCU News: Grad whose businesses celebrate African diaspora feeds her academic curiosity at GCU
GCU News: Grand Canyon University and McCarthy Building Companies Launch New Pre-Apprenticeship Program
GCU News: GCU plans to open College of Law, College of Construction and Industrial Technologies
