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Professor Loeb received a PhD in plasma physics at age 24 from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (1986) and was subsequently a long-term member at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (1988-1993), where he started to work in theoretical astrophysics. In 1993 he moved to Harvard University where he was tenured three years later.  He is now Frank B. Baird Jr. Professor of Science, director of the Institute for Theory and Computation and former chair of the Astronomy department (2011-2020).

He also holds a visiting professorship at the Weizmann Institute of Science and a Senior Professorship by special appointment in the School of Physics and Astronomy at Tel Aviv University.

Loeb has authored over 1000 research articles and 8 books. For full publications and biographies, visit his Professional Site 

Additional Titles:

• Director, Institute for Theory and Computation (ITC)
• Founding Director, Black Hole Initiative (BHI)
• Chair, Breakthrough Starshot Advisory Committee
• Former Chair, Harvard Astronomy Department (2011-2020)
• Head, The Galileo Project
• Former Chair, Board on Physics and Astronomy, National Academies

Publications:   ADS  ,  astro-ph

Essays:   https://avi-loeb.medium.com/

Contacts: Cell:  (617) 913-5598   

Contact Information

Filter by research area, filter by title, filter by graduate advisor, center for astrophysics | harvard & smithsonian.

The Harvard Astronomy Department faculty are members of the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian ( CfA ) which is a collaboration of Harvard College Observatory (HCO) and Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory (SAO). In addition to Harvard Faculty advisors, Harvard graduate students may also elect to work with SAO scientists.  Admissions Director Dave Charbonneau maintains a list of Recommended Advisors .  Students are not limited to just this list however.  If you wish to request any SAO Scientist as an advisor, please contact the office.  

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Graduate students.

Julia Book Motzkin

Julia was born in Chicago, Illinois, and after a 15 year sojourn in the DC area, returned to obtain her bachelor's degree in physics from the University...

Laura Bruce

Kiara carloni.

Aidan Chambers

Taylor Contreras

Diyaselis Delgado

Michael Farrington

Miaochen (Andy) Jin

Gustavs Kehris

Shion Kubota

Shion was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan.  She received her B.A. from Mount Holyoke College where she majored in Physics with...

Alexis Mulski

Alexis hails from Connecticut and earned a B.S. in physics from the University of Michigan in 2020. She has a strong interest in detector hardware and...

Barbara Skrzypek

Pavel Zhelnin

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The Harvard Department of Physics and its collaborators are leaders in a broad spectrum of physics research, utilizing facilities and technologies that are continually being modified and improved with changing research interests and techniques. This provides students, postdoctoral fellows, and other research sholars with opportunities to work in first-class facilities at Harvard, both on individual investigator-led research projects and in scientific collaboration through a variety of research centers.

To learn more about research at our department, please explore the links at left.

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Harvard Griffin GSAS strives to provide students with timely, accurate, and clear information. If you need help understanding a specific policy, please contact the office that administers that policy.

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Questions about these requirements? See the contact info at the bottom of the page. 

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The graduate program in physics accepts applications only for the PhD degree. Although many graduate students earn a continuing AM (Master of Arts) degree along the way to completing their PhDs, the department does not accept applications specifically for terminal AM degrees.

Incoming graduate students are not technically candidates for the PhD degree until they have completed a set of candidacy requirements. Before obtaining a PhD, students must satisfy two sets of requirements—one for official doctoral candidacy and another for the PhD degree itself.

Although no two PhD students follow precisely the same path, students should keep in mind the following general timeline, with details to be explained in later sections:

• During both terms of the first year, students’ tuition, fees, and stipends are covered by either Harvard’s Purcell Fellowship or outside sources of funding, and students should devote their attention to coursework and getting acquainted with research groups. All students should consult regularly with their individually assigned academic advisors in planning a program of study and research.
• In the spring term of the first year, as part of their training in teaching and presentation skills, students are required to enroll in Physics 302A: Teaching and Communicating Physics.
• In the summer after the first year, students arrange for their own funding. For those without external fellowships, options include research assistantships (RAs) with research groups, teaching fellowships (TFs) with summer courses, or attending summer schools and conferences.
• For students in their second year who do not have an external fellowship, the department covers tuition and fees but not salaries. Therefore, starting in the second year, a student without outside funding should plan on securing either a research assistantship (RA) or a teaching fellowship (TF) each term. Students typically use their second year to complete their required coursework and transition into a research group.
• During the second year, students should make sure to complete most of their required course requirements. They should also organize a three-member faculty committee—ideally chaired by their prospective thesis advisor—and take the qualifying oral examination. After completion of the examination and acceptance by a thesis advisor, the student has fulfilled the requirements for official candidacy for the PhD degree.
• For students in their third and later years who do not have an external fellowship, tuition and fees as well as salaries are covered by research assistantships (RAs) or teaching fellowships (TFs).
• Once the student has completed the requirements for candidacy—ideally by the end of the second year but certainly by May 31 of the third year—the student should proceed with a research program that eventually culminates in a thesis. Toward the end of each year, following the qualifying exam or after the third year (whichever comes first), students should submit annual progress reports to their faculty committees for review.
• After joining a research group, students typically receive their summer funding by working in a research assistantship (RA) with that group.
• Each student is required to serve as a teaching fellow (TF) at least two terms during the course of the PhD program. Note: To fulfill this requirement, the TF position should consist of at least 15 hours per week (three eighths-time) and involve a teaching component and not merely grading.
• After writing a thesis under the guidance of a thesis advisor, typically by the end of the fifth or sixth year, the student presents the thesis to a dissertation committee of three faculty members in a final dissertation defense. Once the completed thesis is submitted, the student has fulfilled the requirements for the doctoral degree.

The First Two Years

The department assigns each incoming graduate student a faculty academic advisor to help the student make decisions about coursework and research opportunities. Each student is free to choose a new advisor at any subsequent time, but should inform the graduate program administrator of such a change after obtaining the new advisor’s consent. In particular, by the end of the second year, the student should choose an advisor who will supervise the student’s thesis.

In planning a program, students should study the catalogue of  Courses of Instruction  offered by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences as well as the description in the Programs of Study. After drawing up a tentative program, students should discuss it with their faculty advisors. Students are also welcome to discuss their plans at any time with the director of graduate studies.

Course Record

Students who propose to present theses in experimental fields should demonstrate promise in experimental work and a satisfactory understanding of theoretical physics. Applicants for candidacy in theoretical physics should demonstrate strength in courses of a mathematical nature and a satisfactory acquaintance with experimental aspects of physics. Detailed course requirements are given below under Program of Study. Note that awarding of the continuing AM degree does not automatically qualify the student as a candidate for the PhD.

Program of Study (Credit and Course Requirements)

Each student is required to accumulate a total of 16 4-credit courses of credit, which can include any combination of 200- or 300-level Harvard courses in physics and related fields, graduate-level courses taken by official cross-registration at MIT, and units of Physics 300r (research time) or Physics 300c (course time). These 16 4-credit courses may overlap with some of the eight required four-credit courses for the optional continuing AM degree.

In fulfilling this requirement, students must obtain grades of B- or better in eight four-credit courses specified as follows:

• Four   mandatory   core courses:  Four mandatory core courses: Physics 251A or a qualifying alternative from the department's official list, and Physics 251B, and Physics 232 or Applied Physics 216 or Engineering Sciences 273, and Physics 262 or Applied Physics 284.
• Four elective courses:  Four additional four-credit courses drawn from the  department's official list , with, at most, two four-credit courses in any one field. Note: Not all courses listed are given every year, and course offerings, numbers, and contents sometimes change. Students therefore should confer with their advisors or with the chair of the Committee on Higher Degrees about their program of study.

Course Descriptions:   Courses of Instruction

Other Fields:  With the approval of the Committee on Higher Degrees, a student may use 200-level courses or fields not officially listed. In place of demonstrating proficiency by satisfactory course performance, a student may also demonstrate proficiency by an oral examination, by submitting evidence of satisfactory work in appropriate courses taken at other institutions, or by other means deemed satisfactory by the Committee on Higher Degrees. Students wishing to utilize this option should submit a petition to the Committee on Higher Degrees before the end of their first year of Harvard graduate school.

The general requirements outlined above are a minimum standard and students will usually take additional courses in their selected fields as well as in others. A student need not fulfill all course requirements before beginning research.

As a result of an exchange agreement between the universities, graduate students in physics at Harvard may also enroll in lecture courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The procedure is outlined under “ Cross-Registration "

Physics 247, equivalent laboratory experience, or an oral examination on an experimental topic is a required part of the PhD program for all students who do not submit a thesis that demonstrates experimental proficiency. Students who wish to fulfill this requirement by equivalent laboratory experience or an oral examination should obtain approval of the Committee on Higher Degrees no later than the end of their third year of residence. Students planning on submitting a thesis in theoretical astrophysics may instead satisfy this requirement by taking Astronomy 191 with the approval of the Committee on Higher Degrees.

In addition to research assistantships (RAs), teaching fellowships (TFs) are important sources of support for graduate students after their first year. Because of the importance of teaching skills for a successful physics career, two terms as a TF are required of all graduate students, generally within the first five years of study. This teaching experience provides an opportunity for students to develop the communication skills that are vital for careers in academics and industry.

To fulfill the teaching requirement, students must serve as a teaching fellow at least 2 fall or spring terms for at least 15 hours per week (three eighths-time). The TF position should involve a teaching component and not merely grading.

There is no formal language requirement for the PhD in physics. Students are nonetheless advised that knowledge of certain foreign languages is extremely useful in many fields of physics.

Faculty Committee

By the end of the second year, each student is required to select a faculty chair for a committee to advise the student on the student's research progress. The committee chair is normally one of the department members and, when feasible, a prospective thesis advisor. Under the advisement of the faculty chair, the student should also select two more faculty members to bring the total to three, at least two of whom should be members of the Department of Physics. Selection of the committee, as well as subsequent changes to the committee, require the approval of the director of graduate studies.

Qualifying Oral Examination

Each student is also expected to pass an oral examination given by the student's faculty committee, ideally by the end of the second year, but certainly by May 31 of the third year. The purpose of the examination is two-fold: The examination aids in estimating the candidate’s potential for performing research at a level required for the doctoral thesis, and also serves as a diagnostic tool for determining whether the candidate requires changes to the program of research and study.

For the examination, each student is asked to select, prepare, and discuss in depth a topic in physics and to answer questions from the faculty committee about that topic specifically and more broadly about the student’s larger subfield. Originality is encouraged but not required.

The student selects the topic—preferably, but not necessarily, related to the proposed field of thesis research—and then submits a title and abstract together with a list of completed course requirements (described above under Program of Study) and a decision as to whether the prospective doctoral research will be experimental or theoretical. The student then confers in detail with the committee chair about the topic to be discussed and concrete expectations for the examination. The committee chair provides approval of the topic, and the overall composition of the examination committee must be approved by the director of graduate studies. To ensure adequate preparation, this conference should take place at the earliest possible date, typically one to two months before the examination.

Oral examinations are evaluated on the knowledge and understanding students demonstrate about their chosen topic and their general subfield. Students are also judged on the clarity and organization of their expositions. The examining committee may take into account other information about the candidate’s performance as a graduate student.

The student will pass the examination if the committee believes that the student has demonstrated adequate comprehension of physics in the area of the chosen topic and in the larger field as well as an ability to perform the thesis research required for the doctoral degree. Students who do not pass the qualifying oral examination on their first attempt will be given instructions for improvement and encouraged by the committee to take a second examination at a later date.

The committee may, upon petition, grant a deferment of the examination for up to one year. Students who have not passed their oral examinations by the end of their third year of graduate study must seek approval from the Committee on Higher Degrees prior to being allowed to register for a fourth year of graduate study. If satisfactory arrangements cannot be made, the student will be withdrawn by the department. A student who wishes to change from an experimental to a theoretical thesis topic, or vice versa, may be required to pass a second qualifying oral examination.

Acceptance as a Candidate for the PhD

The final requirement for acceptance as a doctoral candidate is the formal acceptance by a suitable thesis advisor who should be a faculty member of the Department of Physics or a related department. This requirement should be met soon after the oral examination is passed.

Sometimes students may wish to do a substantial portion of their thesis research under the supervision of someone who is not a faculty member of the Department of Physics or a related department. Such an arrangement must have the approval of both the student’s official departmental advisor and that of the Committee on Higher Degrees and the department chair.

Year Three and Beyond

In order to become acquainted with the various programs of research in progress and promising areas for thesis research, students should attend seminars and colloquia and consult with their faculty advisors and upper-level graduate students. A list of the current faculty and their research programs is available  online .

Academic Residence

Ordinarily, a candidate must be enrolled and in residence for at least two years (four terms) of full-time study in the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (Harvard Griffin GSAS). Ideally, the PhD is completed within six years. The student’s committee reviews the student's progress each year. For financial residence requirements, see Financial Aid .

Criteria for Satisfactory Progress

In addition to the guidelines specified by Harvard Griffin GSAS, the physics department identifies satisfactory progress for graduate students by several key criteria.

Upon successful completion of the qualifying oral examination, the student must arrange for the appointment of a faculty committee that will monitor the progress of the student thereafter. The student must be accepted by an appropriate thesis advisor within 18 months after passing the qualifying oral examination.

During each subsequent year, the student must submit a progress report in the form specified by the Committee on Higher Degrees. The progress report must be approved by the student’s faculty committee and the Committee on Higher Degrees, who will evaluate the student’s progress toward the completion of the degree. The Committee on Higher Degrees will examine with special care students beyond their fifth year.

For other types of extensions or leave-of-absence policies, consult the Registration section of Policies.

Dissertation Defense

Toward the end of the student’s thesis research, the student should arrange a dissertation committee, which consists of at least three faculty members and is chaired by a member of the Harvard Department of Physics. At least two members of the dissertation committee, including the chair, must be members of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS). A non-FAS thesis advisor should be a member of the dissertation committee but cannot serve as its official chair.

The dissertation defense consists of an oral final examination delivered to the dissertation committee that involves a searching analysis of the student’s thesis. If the student’s coursework does not indicate a wide proficiency in the field of the thesis, the examination may be extended to test this proficiency as well.

The candidate must provide draft copies of the completed thesis for members of the dissertation committee at least three weeks in advance of the examination. See the Dissertation section of Policies for detailed requirements.

Master of Arts (AM)

The Department of Physics does not admit graduate students whose sole purpose is to study for the Master of Arts (AM) degree. However, the AM degree is frequently taken by students who continue on for the PhD degree. For those who do not attain the doctorate, the AM degree attests to the completion of a full year’s study beyond the bachelor’s degree.

Program of Study (Credit Requirements)

Eight four-credit courses taken while enrolled at Harvard are required for the continuing AM degree. At least four must be physics courses and, ordinarily, all must be in physics or related fields like applied physics, applied math, chemistry, biophysics, engineering, or astronomy. Not more than two four-credit courses may be from the 100-level listing, “for undergraduates and graduates,” and ordinarily not more than one four-credit course may be from the 300-level group, “Reading and Research.” The remainder must be from the 200 level, “primarily for graduates,” or graduate-level courses taken by official cross-registration at MIT. There is no limit on the number of the eight four-credit courses taken at MIT.

With the permission of their advisors and with the approval of the Committee on Higher Degrees, students may substitute 300-level courses for more than one of the required eight four-credit courses. For students who were previously undergraduates at Harvard College, only bracketed courses taken as an undergraduate can count toward the AM degree. Courses counted toward the AM degree are also counted toward the PhD.

All four-credit courses counted toward the AM degree must be passed with a grade of C- or better, and a B average must be obtained in these courses.

No thesis, general examination, or knowledge of a foreign language is required for the AM degree. The minimum residence requirement is one year.

Students in Harvard College who are pursuing the AB/AM degree must complete the advanced laboratory course, either as Physics 191 for the AB degree (if fulfilling the honors physics track) or as Physics 247 for the AM degree (if not fulfilling the honors physics track). For students pursuing an AB concentration other than the Physics concentration or the Chemistry and Physics concentration, seven of the eight courses for the AM must be physics courses.

Contact Info 

Physics Website

Department of Physics Harvard University 17 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA 02138 [email protected]

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• How to Apply

All prospective graduate students to our Ph.D., M.E., S.M., and A.B./S.M. programs apply to the School of Engineering through the Harvard Kenneth C. Griffin  Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS) .

Students interested in the Master in Design Engineering with the Harvard Graduate School of Design will find information about applying to that program  here .

Students interested in the MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences program offered jointly with Harvard Business School will find information about applying to that program  here. Students with bachelor's degrees in the natural or quantitative sciences, mathematics, computer science, or engineering are invited to apply.

All students begin graduate study in the fall term only. 

What does the application require?

• Completed  application form  submitted by the appropriate application deadline (Dec.1st for masters applicants;  December 15th for Ph.D. applicants)
• Statement of Purpose: describe your future research interests, how they relate to your classroom and/or research experience, and which labs at SEAS you're most excited about.  Your statement should be no longer than 1,000 words.
• Personal Statement:Please share how your experiences or activities will advance our mission and commitment to sustain a welcoming, supportive, and inclusive environment  (full text of prompt can be found in the application).  No longer than 500 words.
• Three letters of recommendation submitted electronically
• Transcripts; please upload copies of all transcripts to the Academic Background section of the online application; unofficial copies are acceptable. 
• C.V. or Resume
• SEAS does not accept General GRE scores nor Subject Test GRE scores for applicants to our Ph.D. programs.  Applicants to these programs should not submit official or unofficial GRE scores to us nor mention them anywhere in their application materials.  
• SEAS does not accept General GRE scores nor Subject Test GRE scores for applicants to our masters degree programs in Computational Science & Engineering and Data Science.   Applicants to these programs should not submit official or unofficial GRE scores to us nor mention them anywhere in their application materials.  
• Either the GRE or GMAT is required for applicants applying to the Master of Design Engineering or the MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences programs.   The applications for these programs are available via the Graduate School of Design or Harvard Business School, respectively. 
• If required, an official  TOEFL  or  IELTS  score report. The school code to use to submit your TOEFL score is 3451.  *TOEFL or IELTS scores are required for applicants whose native language is other than English and who do not hold a Bachelor degree or its equivalent from an institution at which English is the language of instruction.  The score must be valid at the time of entry into the program.   Note that a masters degree from an English-speaking institution does not meet this requirement.   
• The application fee of $105.00. Should you want to request a fee waiver from Harvard Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, you may do so in the fee section of the application.

Please list only SEAS ladder faculty on the application.  "Affiliate faculty" cannot admit PhD students.  There are many SEAS ladder faculty with formal joint appointments in other Harvard Griffin GSAS departments, like Physics and Earth and Planetary Sciences.  These faculty can serve as primary research advisors to SEAS students.   A complete list of the SEAS ladder faculty can be found  here - filter for "primary graduate advisors" once you're on this page. 

We do not require an interview as part of the application process and we cannot offer applicants the opportunity for an in-person interview with the admissions staff.  Attending a Ph.D. or Masters Programs admissions information session is the best way to have your questions answered.   More information about our information sessions that will be held in the Fall can be found  here.

We require electronic submission of the entire application, including letters of recommendation and transcripts.  Please do not send us any hard copy materials.

Admissions Timeline for Ph.D., M.E., S.M., and A.B./S.M. Programs  (Note: The  Master in Design Engineering  and the  MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences  have different deadlines and timetables.) Please note:   The application deadline for applicants to our masters programs (S.M., M.E., and AB-SM) is earlier than the application deadline for applicants to our Ph.D. program.    Applicants to our S.M., M.E., and AB-SM masters programs must apply by December 1, 2024.  Applicants to our Ph.D. program   must apply by December 15, 2024 .   We do not accept late applications to any of our programs.

In Applied Physics

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Hunter Bigge has the Harvard smarts and the stuff to fit in with Rays

• Marc Topkin Times staff

Kyle Snyder is intensely familiar with the most advanced and technical aspects of pitching analysis and instruction, extremely comfortable with and conversant in the detailed parlance, nomenclature and verbiage.

During his eight seasons as Rays pitching coach, he often has been praised for his ability to disseminate the complex information to pitchers of assorted ages, educational levels and nationalities in simple and understandable ways.

And then reliever Hunter Bigge — a product of Harvard University — showed up in a late-July trade and they started to discuss details and data.

“He dumbs it down to me,” Snyder said. “And you can print that.”

Bigge, 26, is somewhat of a rarity, one of only two Crimson products in the majors this season, five in the last 34 years (including former Ray Sean Poppen), nine in the expansion era (since 1961) and 35 ever.

But despite his Harvard degree in physics (with a minor in computer science), an academic record of mostly straight A’s and a 33 ACT score (98th percentile), Bigge works hard to just be one of the guys.

“He does a good job of not being pretentious about his Ivy League education,” reliever Tyler Alexander said. “But when he does start doing a crossword, you kind of have to keep your distance because he’ll kick your butt on stuff like that. Any type of word game, he’ll beat you.”

More recently, Bigge has been engaged in, and mostly winning, intense cribbage games with the other Ivy Leaguer in the room, reliever Cole Sulser (Dartmouth), who said they try to be “just normal guys in the bullpen.”

But Bigge still stands out.

“You can just tell he’s smart,” starter Shane Baz said.

“There obviously,” said catcher Ben Rortvedt, “is a little more intellectual intelligence than some of us in the room.”

An unexpected journey

Bigge wasn’t planning to be a major-leaguer. Nor was he planning to go to Harvard, hoping to stay near his northern California home by attending Stanford, but that didn’t work out.

The chance to play baseball and attend “a first-class institution” was quite appealing. Besides Bigge’s arm, Harvard coach Bill Decker noted his physical size (he also was a high school quarterback), grades and wherewithal (as there are no athletic scholarships), and lured him East.

The chance to play baseball and attend “a first-class institution” was quite appealing.

“I was really excited to go there and be around a lot of smart, motivated people. I loved the coaching staff, loved my future teammates who I met on the trip, loved Boston,” Bigge said.

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“I figured if I was good enough to play pro baseball, especially as a pitcher, it doesn’t really matter as much where you go to school, that throwing it hard with nasty stuff, you probably end up getting drafted. So I went there more just for the holistic experience.”

Bigge tried to take full advantage of the Harvard educational experience. That included a research lab where he and his classmates did hands-on work — and we quote — “trying to find an efficient way to get CRISPR Cas9, which is a gene editing protein, into heart valve cells.”

Baseball also was going OK.

After limited innings as a freshman reliever in 2017, the next season Bigge asked to be a two-way player. He hit in the middle of the order and played third, and pitched a little more.

During a 2018 stint in the summer Northwoods League, his velocity ticked up to about 95 mph, and scouts began to notice. “That’s when I realized that it might be a real possibility to be able to play professionally,” Bigge said.

He returned to Harvard for his 2019 junior season and was, Decker said, “our No. 1 guy,” going 7-2, 4.68. He also was their primary DH, hitting .313 with seven homers.

“He was fun to be around,” Decker said Friday. “He worked in the classroom, he worked on the field. He did a heck of a job with his body. He’s just a good dude.”

On to the pros

That chance to play pro ball was very much there, as the Cubs drafted Bigge in the 2019 12th round. He signed for $125,000, walking away from a planned internship at the BlackRock financial investment firm and — temporarily — his pursuit of a degree, though he went back the next offseason to finish his classwork and graduate.

Fast forward through a taste of rookie ball post-2019 draft, the COVID-canceled 2020 minor-league season, a stint at a tech startup called Column (where his wife, Casey, now works) and a shoulder injury-shortened 2021 season that had Bigge questioning if he really wanted to play ball.

He returned in 2022 and worked his way from High A to Double A, then in June 2023 to Triple-A Iowa. But after struggling and being sent back to Double A a month later, he thought more seriously about giving up.

“It was pretty demoralizing,” Bigge said. “I felt like I was on the way out almost. I was kind of pouting around for a little bit trying to figure out if I really wanted to stick with baseball.”

Naturally, he was methodical in his process.

He talked a lot with his wife, with his parents, with his friends who made good money in the tech world he expects to join at some point. “They’re like, ‘Dude, baseball is the best job you’re ever going to have. Be grateful that you’re doing it,’ ” Bigge relayed.

From figuratively “throwing stuff off the wall, just to try and see if something would click” Bigge literally started throwing better and harder, getting his velocity back to the high 90s.

There was no one clear physical change, he said, more “internal cues” and mental adjustments such as “letting a lot of the anxiety go associated with pitching, and just trusting myself to throw the ball as hard as I can, knowing that it would end up over the plate.”

An oblique injury delayed his 2024 Triple-A debut until June, and a month later he got the call to the majors. A few weeks later, he was traded to the Rays. With an average fastball velocity of 97.5 mph (95th percentile), a 30% strikeout rate and walks under control, he has a chance to hold a key spot in their bullpen going forward.

“In hindsight, it’s been a wild journey for sure,” Bigge said.

“Every step of the way, it’s just been me kind of battling to try and get to that next level. When I’m in high school, trying to get recruited to colleges. Then trying to help my college team win. None of it’s ever been super easy. It’s all been me trying to get to the next step and it being really hard, luckily just continuing to be able to put one foot in front of the other. And it’s worked out pretty well so far.”

Enough for a chance for more conversations with Snyder.

“Actually, he’s been a lot easier to talk to,” Snyder said, “and I’m a little less intimidated than I was when we acquired him.”

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Marc Topkin is a sports reporter covering the Tampa Bay Rays. Reach him at [email protected].

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