HIT MAN: Jensen Bergman waits for a pitch in action this spring for the Vassar College baseball team. Former Princeton High standout Bergman wrapped up a superb career at Vassar this season by batting .404 with 35 runs, 44 hits, seven doubles, eight triples, two homers, and 31 RBIs. He was named to the 2026 All-Liberty League first team and was a 2026 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Region III second team selection. Star outfielder achieved the first cycle in Vassar history this spring and also set a program career record with 18 triples. (Photo by Stockton Photo, Inc., provided courtesy of Vassar College Athletics)
By Bill Alden
As Jensen Bergman started his career for the Vassar College baseball team in 2022, it looked like he might be in over his head.
“My freshman fall I went 0 for 15 in intrasquad scrimmages,” said former Princeton High star Bergman. “It was the worst I had ever played. I just wasn’t able to adjust to college pitching right away.”
Working hard over the winter in the batting cage and in the weight room, Bergman adjusted quite well to college pitching that spring, producing a stellar freshman campaign, batting .373 with 20 runs and 31 hits.
Bergman experienced a big breakthrough in his freshman year when he went 6 for 8 with four runs and three RBIs in a sweep of a doubleheader against Central in mid-March.
“That was the first game where I really started to feel like myself at the plate,” said the 5’10 Bergman. “The hits kept falling. I was pretty much at the back of the depth chart after my fall. After that game I was starting the rest of the season. I kept that pace and the same approach and things kept working out for me.”
Things worked out for star outfielder Bergman over the next three years as he developed into one of the best players in program history. He ended up posting a career batting average of .352 and set the Vassar career record for triples with 18. He finished in the top-10 all-time for the Brewers in runs (third), hits (sixth), home runs (seventh), RBI (fifth), total bases (fifth), batting average (seventh), slugging percentage (third), on-base percentage (second), and walks (fifth).
For Bergman, coming to Vassar was a family affair. “My dad (Jeff) played baseball at Vassar — he was on one of the first teams at Vassar,” said Bergman. “Vassar was my one and only offer. I had gone up to the campus a million times as my dad had been playing in the alumni games. It was a great team culture; he is still great friends with all of his teammates that he played with. I realized it was the right fit for me.”
While Bergman displayed the right stuff in his freshman campaign, he took a bit of a step back as a sophomore when his batting average dipped to .280.
“I had made a little name for myself after my freshman season,” said Bergman. “There pitchers knew how to attack me better. I was getting pitched to in a style I had never had before. At the same time I was trying to be a hero. I was really focused on extra base hits and hitting for power. The combination of the two led to kind of a down year for me.”
Rebounding in his junior year, Bergman batted .363 with 41 hits and 30 runs.
“I still had the raw tools, I wasn’t hitting the ball any less hard,” said Bergman. “I really drilled seeing the ball; looking for strikes and trying to get a good pitch to hit. I believe my walks were up and my strikeouts were down that year from the year previous. I really just focused on making the pitcher come to me. It was eliminating the times where I was getting myself out. I am not someone who is going to go up and hit 10-15 home runs a year. It is really just hitting the gaps, seeing the ball for strikes and then really just trying to be a tough out rather than hitting home runs.”
Coming into this spring, Bergman was determined to make the most out of his final college campaign.
“Staring down at my last year of really competitive baseball, I made a decision to get as good as I could and see how well I could perform,” said Bergman. “I was practicing harder than ever working through the winter, taking every extra swing that I could and crushing the weight room harder than I ever had. It was just locking into the parts of my game that make me good — pitch selection, hunting pitches, and being on the aggressive side at the plate.”
In the second game of a doubleheader against Union on March 29, Bergman made history, hitting for a cycle (homer, triple double, single) for the first time in program history.
“After my third at-bat, I hit a double that was right down the right field line,” said Bergman, who had homered and hit a triple in his first two at-bats in that contest. “Standing on second base, it was ‘Oh my god, I am a single away from a cycle.’ I got all of the hard stuff out of the way. I went into the dugout and I said to my teammates, ‘I am a single away from a cycle, I am going to do it.’ Everyone was, ‘Oh you can’t say that, you are going to jinx yourself.’ I said to them, ‘I don’t believe in getting jinxed, I just know I was going to do it.’”
Bergman did do it, stroking a single in the eighth inning to accomplish the feat.
“It is definitely a good feeling, I am happy to say that I hit for the cycle — not may baseball players do,” said Bergman. “Honestly, I hope I am not the only one forever. It took 40 something years for it to happen the first time. There are a lot of talented players who can do it — I am hoping that someone joins me.”
In addition to getting the cycle against Union, Bergman also broke the program’s career triple record in that twinbill.
“It is special, all of the players before me set a high standard,” said Bergman. “If you had told me at the beginning of my freshman year, especially after the fall, that I was going to have a program record, I would have been shocked.”
Bergman did save his best for last in his senior campaign, batting .404 with 35 runs, 44 hits, seven doubles, eight triples, two homers, and 31 RBIs.
“I just wanted to give it my all,” said Bergman, who made the 2026 All-Liberty League first team, was a 2026 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) All-Region III second team selection, and earned 2026 D3baseball.com All-Region III second team honors. “I was never really focused on stats. I just wanted to get better every day and help my team win, especially as a senior with my best friends. But looking back, it feels good to see my name at the top of the record books.”
While Bergman is proud of the legacy he is leaving individually, he is hoping his success will help inspire the Brewers to reach new heights collectively as they look to improve on the 13-20 record posted this spring.
“I hope I have raised the standard of the program,” said Bergman. “I hope that the players that were on the team with me see that and know that they are able to achieve that. As good as my individual season was, we didn’t win as much as we could have. I hope that the players recognize that I am just like them and they are capable of achieving even better.”
Upon graduating from Vassar, Bergman has caught on with another program, starting a job as a sports trader for gambling company FanDuel in New York City.
“I wanted to stay in sports and I am also very interested in computer science and statistics,” said Bergman, who was also a three-time Liberty League All-Academic selection. “I found a job that combines the two. My job responsibilities include pricing out lines that people can bet on and statistic modeling.”
While Bergman is busy with the analytics side of sports, he has made time to stay in baseball, joining the Pelham Mets in a men’s league.
“We have a wide range of players, there are people who just graduated from high school and then also there are some on my team that are two years out of the MLB,” said Bergman. “It is two or three days a week. I am glad that I am able to stay in the game. I didn’t lose too much. I think I am batting about .500 so far. It has been fun. I enjoy the league and just playing the games I can.”
In reflecting on his baseball journey, Bergman is hoping he can be a role model for Princeton area players getting into the game.
“I would not have thought that I would have achieved this not because I didn’t think I was capable,” said Bergman. “I didn’t realize it being an option for me coming out of Princeton where there are not that many college players. I hope that the kids that think they can play in college, or want to, realize that it is an option. It is doable and you can have a fantastic experience and stay in the game longer.”