Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Salvino Finds Home at Wake Forest
7/17/2024 9:00:00 AM | Baseball
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – As the use of the NCAA Transfer Portal has become more ubiquitous, it's obvious that sometimes those departure decisions lead to hurt feelings.
That was far from the case, however, when Mitchell Salvino decided to transfer to Wake Forest after graduating from Washington and Lee last fall. Salvino's four years both on and off the field were so impressive, he quickly received a letter from Washington and Lee President William C. Dudley lauding his achievements.
"Clearly you have excelled both on and off the field and the W&L community and I am proud of you," Dudley wrote. "I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and look forward to hearing about your success as a W&L alumnus."
Salvino hit for a .348 average in 90 games on the diamond in his career for Washington and Lee, smashing 11 home runs and driving in 71 runs. Even more spectacular was his presence off the field, where he excelled as the William D. McHenry Men's Sport Scholar-Athlete of the Year, graduated magna cum laude and organized fundraisers.
"We got sent home from Covid my freshman year, so in my sophomore year I started a fundraiser," Salvino said. "I donated money by selling t-shirts on campus. The word got out to alumni of other families of people at Washington and Lee, other guys on the baseball team and so forth. We ended up raising $10,000 my sophomore year donated to a local community service institute in the community in Lexington, Virginia.
"We donated $10,000 for Covid relief because that area was impacted quite significantly during that time and really they didn't have enough funds to cater to everybody. So that made an impact that year."
The charitable cause shifted focus a bit his final two years on campus to assist Washington and Lee students in need.
"Because Washington and Lee is a pretty high income school, you'd never expect any of your classmates or whoever you interact with to be going through specific problems," Salvino said. "But that fund just helps out a lot of those kids on campus who are facing those problems. And within my junior and senior year, we ended up raising about $26,500 for that specific charity.
"The main thing that I loved about doing a bunch of community service and stuff is just getting a bunch of people to tackle one problem. I mean, it's amazing the random people you interact with who have the same goals as you in terms of wanting to help solve a specific problem or give money to try to help others in need. And just doing it with my baseball team at Washington and Lee was very helpful too, because for some of them it was their first time being involved with community service, being exposed to that type of stuff."
Philanthropy started early for Salvino, as his entire family became engaged after his mother, Denise, was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2012. Denise was cured in 2014.
"It was a huge scare for us at the time," Mitchell said. "Obviously, anytime you hear the word cancer your mind goes to the worst places. And at that time in Charlotte, the main cancer hospital, Levine Cancer Institute, there wasn't a large specific bladder cancer area within that hospital. So during that time, my dad (Michael) actually got involved a lot with the Levine Cancer Institute (LCI), in terms of trying to build up the bladder cancer area within that hospital. And he actually got my whole family involved with community service at a very young age."
While Mitchell was just 12-years old at the time, he and his younger sister Morgan followed the lead of his older brother Matthew.
"We got involved with a bunch of cancer walks and stuff like that," Mitchell said. "And then when we finally became of age to make an impact on our own and not needing adult supervision in high school, my brother actually started a fundraiser called Cougars For a Cure to raise money for bladder cancer research.
"It all went towards LCI in terms of trying to expand upon their bladder cancer research area and trying to build a specific area for that in Charlotte so that other people who have faced similar problems that we have know that they have a resource to go to. But he started, that was, I think when he was a junior in high school and I was a freshman. Then once he graduated, I took it over."
In Mitchell's four years at Charlotte Catholic, they raised more than $180,000 for bladder cancer research.
"As the years went on, we grew and grew, obviously with word of mouth and stuff like that," he said. "We had articles written as well. So we got the word out very well within the Charlotte community. It was extraordinary. I mean, it's an awesome kind of community where we're able to surround ourselves with the type of people that are there. We only met a handful of people impacted by specifically bladder cancer, but so many other people impacted by just cancer in general, other diseases and other hardships that their families face.
"It was just a very supportive community. Going back to the beginning of the story in 2012, I kind of felt like my goal in life is to help others simply because I don't want anyone else to have that hopelessness feeling that my family had in that moment. My dad has shown us that giving back to our communities and giving back to others is a main priority in our lives."
That spirit of giving that started when Mitchell was 12-years old continued as he moved on to Washington and Lee University, as he dove head first into philanthropy and academics when the Covid-19 pandemic and an injury took baseball completely away for a period of time. The Generals played just 14 games in 2020, with Salvino competing in just six.
"I was battling severe shin splints my freshman year," he said. "But going off of that, my main focus my freshman year was academics first and then baseball because I needed to make sure that I wasn't digging myself a hole for the remaining three years of my college career.
"When Covid hit, I was fully dedicated to classwork in school because we had no more baseball. So I really took that time to make sure I was putting my best foot forward and making sure that I set myself up for success for next season. And in that time, I actually took that time to kind of rest, get healthy again, get treatment, train more so that the injuries didn't come back for the next season. And luckily, my shin splints never came back."
Beginning his collegiate journey at a Division-3 school seemed like a natural fit for Mitchell, as he realized his father had followed a similar path and has achieved overwhelming success in his life both professionally and personally.
"So when I went the D3 route, I felt like I was following in his footsteps and he balanced school and athletics very easily," Mitchell said. "And he's become very successful in life. He's been able to raise three kids. My brother is in med school at Duke right now. My sister's here at Wake Forest. I would say all of us are pretty successful and him being able to manage all three of us along with working and then along with doing all the philanthropic activities he does, sets an example in my mind of how I should go about my daily activities, how I should go about life.
"So everything I do feels normal to me because I've been around that my entire life with my family and my dad. I get how it can look like it's a little much from the outside, but I totally feel comfortable giving my time and efforts to different areas whenever they need it."
The list of accomplishments during Salvino's four years at Washington and Lee are borderline excessive — he'll eventually have to pick and choose which to exclude when he puts together his post-graduate school resume. Salvino was the most valuable player for the Washington and Lee Baseball team while also earning the Old Dominion Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. He did it all both on and off the field.
"I'm forever grateful for Washington and Lee," he said. "I honestly wouldn't have it any other way because coming out of high school, I was less physically developed than other kids. But I wouldn't trade in my four years there for anything else. I got an amazing academic experience, amazing baseball experience.
"They helped me reach my fullest potential, quite honestly, in terms of whether it be baseball, whether it be school, and having the feasibility of doing school and baseball very synonymously was very helpful. And yeah, I'm just thankful for Washington and Lee for all that they did. And obviously it was like a bittersweet ending. I was happy to come here, but I was kind of sad to leave there."
Salvino started hearing from Wake Forest shortly after his junior season at Washington and Lee.
"I heard from Jeff Schaefer, who's one of my greatest mentors in life — coached me, built up my swing and told me to get bigger," Salvino said. "I got in the weight room because coming out of high school I was only 150 pounds. I'm 190 right now. So I give all credit to him in terms of my baseball development along the way. But he is very connected with a lot of collegiate coaches. He played in the MLB as well.
"He played with Bill Merrifield, so he knew Coach (Tom) Walter through Bill Merrifield. That's kind of how we got connected because he reached out to a lot of ACC coaches in terms of their interest in me as a grad outfielder."
Walter went to see Salvino play later that fall and offered him a spot as a Demon Deacon for the 2024 season.
"Ultimately I got to talking with Coach Walter, talked to him about my goals and asked him if it's a real possibility," Salvino said. "He said obviously it was. And then he saw me play in the fall and then offered me, I think it was in November, actually offered me, I accepted obviously. So it was really, I would say the process happened pretty fast, honestly.
"I didn't know that I could play at the next level until the end of my junior year in college. And things didn't really play out until the fall of my senior year. And in the back of my mind, I just didn't want things to carry over into my senior year season at Washington and Lee. So I'm really happy that I was able to lock down coming to Wake Forest in the fall in November, and I mean, I wouldn't choose any other place. My eight or nine months here have been some of the greatest ones of my life."
Of course, while Salvino was navigating school, philanthropy and his senior season of baseball at Washington and Lee, he was watching the Demon Deacons make a historic run all the way to the College World Series in Omaha.
"We only played double headers on Saturdays," he said. "We never played Friday, Saturday, Sunday, we would only have double headers on Saturdays. And our in conference games would only be a series of two games. So that would be it. So then Sundays, I would watch Wake Forest on my computer while I'm doing homework and stuff. So it was very cool to see that on TV and think in the back of my mind, I'm going to be there next year."
Even before suiting up for an official game as a Demon Deacon, Salvino returned to LCI donning a Wake Forest jersey to spread joy and love to hospitalized children.
"I did a small interview with one of the main doctors there, and it was kind of broadcasted on all the children's TVs in the room," he said. "And we played bingo and stuff, and they would call out specific bingo things and then the interview would be on their televisions as well. So they would see me. And then after that interview, I went around to a lot of the kids' rooms who were able to see me, and we gave out a little Wake Forest baseball."
The children, ranging in ages from 2-14, all received encouragement from Salvino along with a Wake Forest squishy baseball.
"They loved it," he said. "And it was really impactful to see him because some kids are just not in the same shape as you would expect normal healthy kids to be in. And quite honestly, it was very eye opening for me because I've never really been in a hospital where you're able to see a patient who just got off a surgery or so forth, and it's just impactful to think these kids have man of the the same dreams and aspirations that I did as a kid.
"So it was tough to see them in that stage of post-surgery or having to battle certain diseases or certain cancers. But every time I walked in the room, their faces brightened up. So it was really cool to see that. And I plan to do that next year as well. So the main thing for me is just making sure I'm helping out whichever community that I live in or that I am around to make sure that it can be pretty much the best it can be."
On the field, Salvino provided a utility player role in 2024, playing in 29 games in his first of two seasons as a Demon Deacon. He flashed the leather with a handful of spectacular catches in the outfield and drove one out of the park in a mid-March win over Louisville at David F. Couch Ballpark.
"My whole goal around baseball here is helping the team win in any way possible," he said. "Whether that be pinch hit, whether that be pinch run in the ninth, or defensive replacement in the ninth. Whatever I can do to be helpful. That's kind of what I want my legacy to be as a baseball player here, is just to be a guy that can be relied on if we're in tough situations, to lock it down in the outfield or what have you."
It's Mitchell's attitude, perseverance and grit that has impressed Walter since his arrival.
"Mitch is one of those guys who exemplifies what we preach — how you do anything is how you do everything," Walter said. "He's a rock star in the classroom. He's kind of been the poster child for the business school over there at the school of management. And he's incredibly hardworking, incredibly thoughtful. He's trying to get he and his teammates involved in a community charity fundraising project where they can kind of sell some gear and raise some money for a local charity, things like that. He's just a great human being and somebody that you just can't help but have a ton of respect for.
"As a player, he's kind of one of those gritty grinders. He is one of those guys that doesn't get his opportunities often as far as being in the starting lineup, but it seems like every time he does, he gets a big hit or makes a big play for us and comes off the bench and plays great defense. And he can be a pinch runner, just really kind of versatile, you can put him in any of the three outfield positions and he is just a good solid player. And again, somebody that just does all the little things."
It's been essentially a perfect fit for Salvino on the diamond thus far.
"Our clubhouse was filled with guys who are getting drafted in the first round, which is unreal," he said. "And just meeting those guys, they don't have an ego at all. They're the nicest guys ever. So just seeing that and seeing the best players in college baseball aren't mean people. They don't think too highly of themselves. They're very humble people. That was probably the initial instance where I knew that I made the right decision and knew that this was going to be a great couple years for me."
Salvino has been inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the Wake Forest School of Business Honor Society and is the recipient of the Leon and Betty Wahrhaftig Scholarship.
"I'm in the Master's of Science and Management program here and it's been going really well," Salvino said. "I have really loved it so far. It's a very different academic setting than what I'm used to because at Washington and Lee I was an engineering and computer science major, so I was very technical. And now here it's very business centered.
"Although I can use my technical skills, it's more so centered around giving presentations and tailoring specific things towards specific audiences and so forth like that. But I've loved it so far. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. And I do plan on coming back next year as well to get my MBA and play again, because coming from D3 to D1 Covid gave me two years instead of just one extra year."
The best scenario moving forward for Salvino is to find ways to blend what he's learned on the technical side at Washington and Lee with what he's learning from a business perspective at Wake Forest.
"My long-term goal is to be involved within a startup to finally own something of mine, really tailored towards the technology sector," he said. "So based on my background, engineering, computer science, and then business, I really want to do something in technology, but have my own company with that. I just want to use my entire background to make a difference in the world, a positive difference in the world. I want to be able to help people."
The personal letter received from Washington and Lee President Dudley came as quite a surprise to Salvino.
"It felt really good," he said. "It was kind of cool to see the president wrap in a lot of my major achievements within that single letter. So talking about the Phi Beta Kappa, the ODAC Scholar, athlete of the year and so forth was really, really cool to see because I've never really taken a moment to analyze everything I'd accomplished at Washington and Lee. My mind is more focused on go, go, go — what's ahead of me. I was focused obviously on coming here and trying to help impact the team any way I could.
"I mean, my four years there were so great. So just seeing kind of a recap, I guess, of all the accomplishments I did, the impact I had, not only on the school, but the community there as well was very neat to see."
The next goal for Salvino is to leave that same sort of legacy behind at Wake Forest.
"I want to leave the legacy of selflessness, philanthropic activities and so forth," he said. "I want to continue representing the Wake Forest Baseball team and Wake Forest University in a positive light whenever I go out in public. And I want to make sure that I'm helping others wherever I go as well. So I hope to kind of show people that I'm one who gives back a lot. I'm one who gives maximum effort into everything I do, and that ultimately I'm just a hard worker."
That was far from the case, however, when Mitchell Salvino decided to transfer to Wake Forest after graduating from Washington and Lee last fall. Salvino's four years both on and off the field were so impressive, he quickly received a letter from Washington and Lee President William C. Dudley lauding his achievements.
"Clearly you have excelled both on and off the field and the W&L community and I am proud of you," Dudley wrote. "I wish you all the best in your future endeavors and look forward to hearing about your success as a W&L alumnus."
Salvino hit for a .348 average in 90 games on the diamond in his career for Washington and Lee, smashing 11 home runs and driving in 71 runs. Even more spectacular was his presence off the field, where he excelled as the William D. McHenry Men's Sport Scholar-Athlete of the Year, graduated magna cum laude and organized fundraisers.
"We got sent home from Covid my freshman year, so in my sophomore year I started a fundraiser," Salvino said. "I donated money by selling t-shirts on campus. The word got out to alumni of other families of people at Washington and Lee, other guys on the baseball team and so forth. We ended up raising $10,000 my sophomore year donated to a local community service institute in the community in Lexington, Virginia.
"We donated $10,000 for Covid relief because that area was impacted quite significantly during that time and really they didn't have enough funds to cater to everybody. So that made an impact that year."
The charitable cause shifted focus a bit his final two years on campus to assist Washington and Lee students in need.
"Because Washington and Lee is a pretty high income school, you'd never expect any of your classmates or whoever you interact with to be going through specific problems," Salvino said. "But that fund just helps out a lot of those kids on campus who are facing those problems. And within my junior and senior year, we ended up raising about $26,500 for that specific charity.
"The main thing that I loved about doing a bunch of community service and stuff is just getting a bunch of people to tackle one problem. I mean, it's amazing the random people you interact with who have the same goals as you in terms of wanting to help solve a specific problem or give money to try to help others in need. And just doing it with my baseball team at Washington and Lee was very helpful too, because for some of them it was their first time being involved with community service, being exposed to that type of stuff."
Philanthropy started early for Salvino, as his entire family became engaged after his mother, Denise, was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2012. Denise was cured in 2014.
"It was a huge scare for us at the time," Mitchell said. "Obviously, anytime you hear the word cancer your mind goes to the worst places. And at that time in Charlotte, the main cancer hospital, Levine Cancer Institute, there wasn't a large specific bladder cancer area within that hospital. So during that time, my dad (Michael) actually got involved a lot with the Levine Cancer Institute (LCI), in terms of trying to build up the bladder cancer area within that hospital. And he actually got my whole family involved with community service at a very young age."
While Mitchell was just 12-years old at the time, he and his younger sister Morgan followed the lead of his older brother Matthew.
"We got involved with a bunch of cancer walks and stuff like that," Mitchell said. "And then when we finally became of age to make an impact on our own and not needing adult supervision in high school, my brother actually started a fundraiser called Cougars For a Cure to raise money for bladder cancer research.
"It all went towards LCI in terms of trying to expand upon their bladder cancer research area and trying to build a specific area for that in Charlotte so that other people who have faced similar problems that we have know that they have a resource to go to. But he started, that was, I think when he was a junior in high school and I was a freshman. Then once he graduated, I took it over."
In Mitchell's four years at Charlotte Catholic, they raised more than $180,000 for bladder cancer research.
"As the years went on, we grew and grew, obviously with word of mouth and stuff like that," he said. "We had articles written as well. So we got the word out very well within the Charlotte community. It was extraordinary. I mean, it's an awesome kind of community where we're able to surround ourselves with the type of people that are there. We only met a handful of people impacted by specifically bladder cancer, but so many other people impacted by just cancer in general, other diseases and other hardships that their families face.
"It was just a very supportive community. Going back to the beginning of the story in 2012, I kind of felt like my goal in life is to help others simply because I don't want anyone else to have that hopelessness feeling that my family had in that moment. My dad has shown us that giving back to our communities and giving back to others is a main priority in our lives."
That spirit of giving that started when Mitchell was 12-years old continued as he moved on to Washington and Lee University, as he dove head first into philanthropy and academics when the Covid-19 pandemic and an injury took baseball completely away for a period of time. The Generals played just 14 games in 2020, with Salvino competing in just six.
"I was battling severe shin splints my freshman year," he said. "But going off of that, my main focus my freshman year was academics first and then baseball because I needed to make sure that I wasn't digging myself a hole for the remaining three years of my college career.
"When Covid hit, I was fully dedicated to classwork in school because we had no more baseball. So I really took that time to make sure I was putting my best foot forward and making sure that I set myself up for success for next season. And in that time, I actually took that time to kind of rest, get healthy again, get treatment, train more so that the injuries didn't come back for the next season. And luckily, my shin splints never came back."
Beginning his collegiate journey at a Division-3 school seemed like a natural fit for Mitchell, as he realized his father had followed a similar path and has achieved overwhelming success in his life both professionally and personally.
"So when I went the D3 route, I felt like I was following in his footsteps and he balanced school and athletics very easily," Mitchell said. "And he's become very successful in life. He's been able to raise three kids. My brother is in med school at Duke right now. My sister's here at Wake Forest. I would say all of us are pretty successful and him being able to manage all three of us along with working and then along with doing all the philanthropic activities he does, sets an example in my mind of how I should go about my daily activities, how I should go about life.
"So everything I do feels normal to me because I've been around that my entire life with my family and my dad. I get how it can look like it's a little much from the outside, but I totally feel comfortable giving my time and efforts to different areas whenever they need it."
The list of accomplishments during Salvino's four years at Washington and Lee are borderline excessive — he'll eventually have to pick and choose which to exclude when he puts together his post-graduate school resume. Salvino was the most valuable player for the Washington and Lee Baseball team while also earning the Old Dominion Conference Scholar-Athlete of the Year Award. He did it all both on and off the field.
"I'm forever grateful for Washington and Lee," he said. "I honestly wouldn't have it any other way because coming out of high school, I was less physically developed than other kids. But I wouldn't trade in my four years there for anything else. I got an amazing academic experience, amazing baseball experience.
"They helped me reach my fullest potential, quite honestly, in terms of whether it be baseball, whether it be school, and having the feasibility of doing school and baseball very synonymously was very helpful. And yeah, I'm just thankful for Washington and Lee for all that they did. And obviously it was like a bittersweet ending. I was happy to come here, but I was kind of sad to leave there."
Salvino started hearing from Wake Forest shortly after his junior season at Washington and Lee.
"I heard from Jeff Schaefer, who's one of my greatest mentors in life — coached me, built up my swing and told me to get bigger," Salvino said. "I got in the weight room because coming out of high school I was only 150 pounds. I'm 190 right now. So I give all credit to him in terms of my baseball development along the way. But he is very connected with a lot of collegiate coaches. He played in the MLB as well.
"He played with Bill Merrifield, so he knew Coach (Tom) Walter through Bill Merrifield. That's kind of how we got connected because he reached out to a lot of ACC coaches in terms of their interest in me as a grad outfielder."
Walter went to see Salvino play later that fall and offered him a spot as a Demon Deacon for the 2024 season.
"Ultimately I got to talking with Coach Walter, talked to him about my goals and asked him if it's a real possibility," Salvino said. "He said obviously it was. And then he saw me play in the fall and then offered me, I think it was in November, actually offered me, I accepted obviously. So it was really, I would say the process happened pretty fast, honestly.
"I didn't know that I could play at the next level until the end of my junior year in college. And things didn't really play out until the fall of my senior year. And in the back of my mind, I just didn't want things to carry over into my senior year season at Washington and Lee. So I'm really happy that I was able to lock down coming to Wake Forest in the fall in November, and I mean, I wouldn't choose any other place. My eight or nine months here have been some of the greatest ones of my life."
Of course, while Salvino was navigating school, philanthropy and his senior season of baseball at Washington and Lee, he was watching the Demon Deacons make a historic run all the way to the College World Series in Omaha.
"We only played double headers on Saturdays," he said. "We never played Friday, Saturday, Sunday, we would only have double headers on Saturdays. And our in conference games would only be a series of two games. So that would be it. So then Sundays, I would watch Wake Forest on my computer while I'm doing homework and stuff. So it was very cool to see that on TV and think in the back of my mind, I'm going to be there next year."
Even before suiting up for an official game as a Demon Deacon, Salvino returned to LCI donning a Wake Forest jersey to spread joy and love to hospitalized children.
"I did a small interview with one of the main doctors there, and it was kind of broadcasted on all the children's TVs in the room," he said. "And we played bingo and stuff, and they would call out specific bingo things and then the interview would be on their televisions as well. So they would see me. And then after that interview, I went around to a lot of the kids' rooms who were able to see me, and we gave out a little Wake Forest baseball."
The children, ranging in ages from 2-14, all received encouragement from Salvino along with a Wake Forest squishy baseball.
"They loved it," he said. "And it was really impactful to see him because some kids are just not in the same shape as you would expect normal healthy kids to be in. And quite honestly, it was very eye opening for me because I've never really been in a hospital where you're able to see a patient who just got off a surgery or so forth, and it's just impactful to think these kids have man of the the same dreams and aspirations that I did as a kid.
"So it was tough to see them in that stage of post-surgery or having to battle certain diseases or certain cancers. But every time I walked in the room, their faces brightened up. So it was really cool to see that. And I plan to do that next year as well. So the main thing for me is just making sure I'm helping out whichever community that I live in or that I am around to make sure that it can be pretty much the best it can be."
On the field, Salvino provided a utility player role in 2024, playing in 29 games in his first of two seasons as a Demon Deacon. He flashed the leather with a handful of spectacular catches in the outfield and drove one out of the park in a mid-March win over Louisville at David F. Couch Ballpark.
"My whole goal around baseball here is helping the team win in any way possible," he said. "Whether that be pinch hit, whether that be pinch run in the ninth, or defensive replacement in the ninth. Whatever I can do to be helpful. That's kind of what I want my legacy to be as a baseball player here, is just to be a guy that can be relied on if we're in tough situations, to lock it down in the outfield or what have you."
It's Mitchell's attitude, perseverance and grit that has impressed Walter since his arrival.
"Mitch is one of those guys who exemplifies what we preach — how you do anything is how you do everything," Walter said. "He's a rock star in the classroom. He's kind of been the poster child for the business school over there at the school of management. And he's incredibly hardworking, incredibly thoughtful. He's trying to get he and his teammates involved in a community charity fundraising project where they can kind of sell some gear and raise some money for a local charity, things like that. He's just a great human being and somebody that you just can't help but have a ton of respect for.
"As a player, he's kind of one of those gritty grinders. He is one of those guys that doesn't get his opportunities often as far as being in the starting lineup, but it seems like every time he does, he gets a big hit or makes a big play for us and comes off the bench and plays great defense. And he can be a pinch runner, just really kind of versatile, you can put him in any of the three outfield positions and he is just a good solid player. And again, somebody that just does all the little things."
It's been essentially a perfect fit for Salvino on the diamond thus far.
"Our clubhouse was filled with guys who are getting drafted in the first round, which is unreal," he said. "And just meeting those guys, they don't have an ego at all. They're the nicest guys ever. So just seeing that and seeing the best players in college baseball aren't mean people. They don't think too highly of themselves. They're very humble people. That was probably the initial instance where I knew that I made the right decision and knew that this was going to be a great couple years for me."
Salvino has been inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, the Wake Forest School of Business Honor Society and is the recipient of the Leon and Betty Wahrhaftig Scholarship.
"I'm in the Master's of Science and Management program here and it's been going really well," Salvino said. "I have really loved it so far. It's a very different academic setting than what I'm used to because at Washington and Lee I was an engineering and computer science major, so I was very technical. And now here it's very business centered.
"Although I can use my technical skills, it's more so centered around giving presentations and tailoring specific things towards specific audiences and so forth like that. But I've loved it so far. I wouldn't trade it for anything else. And I do plan on coming back next year as well to get my MBA and play again, because coming from D3 to D1 Covid gave me two years instead of just one extra year."
The best scenario moving forward for Salvino is to find ways to blend what he's learned on the technical side at Washington and Lee with what he's learning from a business perspective at Wake Forest.
"My long-term goal is to be involved within a startup to finally own something of mine, really tailored towards the technology sector," he said. "So based on my background, engineering, computer science, and then business, I really want to do something in technology, but have my own company with that. I just want to use my entire background to make a difference in the world, a positive difference in the world. I want to be able to help people."
The personal letter received from Washington and Lee President Dudley came as quite a surprise to Salvino.
"It felt really good," he said. "It was kind of cool to see the president wrap in a lot of my major achievements within that single letter. So talking about the Phi Beta Kappa, the ODAC Scholar, athlete of the year and so forth was really, really cool to see because I've never really taken a moment to analyze everything I'd accomplished at Washington and Lee. My mind is more focused on go, go, go — what's ahead of me. I was focused obviously on coming here and trying to help impact the team any way I could.
"I mean, my four years there were so great. So just seeing kind of a recap, I guess, of all the accomplishments I did, the impact I had, not only on the school, but the community there as well was very neat to see."
The next goal for Salvino is to leave that same sort of legacy behind at Wake Forest.
"I want to leave the legacy of selflessness, philanthropic activities and so forth," he said. "I want to continue representing the Wake Forest Baseball team and Wake Forest University in a positive light whenever I go out in public. And I want to make sure that I'm helping others wherever I go as well. So I hope to kind of show people that I'm one who gives back a lot. I'm one who gives maximum effort into everything I do, and that ultimately I'm just a hard worker."
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Jake Dickert Pre-Spring Press Conference (March 18, 2026)
Wednesday, March 18
Wake Forest Women's Golf: Kim Lewellen Women's History Month Feature
Monday, March 16
Men's Basketball Postgame Presser vs. Clemson, 2026 ACC Tournament
Thursday, March 12