PRESS RELEASE: APRIL 7, 2025

Barrow named 2025 Tindall Scholarship recipient

Ben Barrow was named the 2025 recipient of the John C. Tindall Endowed Scholarship. From left: John Tindall, Ben Barrow and SJR State Head baseball coach Ross Jones.

St. Johns River State College baseball catcher Ben Barrow was named the 2025 recipient of the John C. Tindall Endowed Scholarship. The award is presented each year to an individual for demonstrating exemplary work ethic, leadership, and quality performance in the classroom and on the field.

Barrow, from Jacksonville, is a graduate of Providence High School. As a freshman at SJR State in 2024, Barrow played in 44 games, starting 40 of those. He had a batting average of .286 and hit 12 doubles, 5 homeruns and had 24 RBI’s. Defensively, Barrow threw out 19 runners attempting to steal.

During the Vikings run toward the NJCAA world series, Barrow caught every game of the Vikings state tournament and was named the tournament’s most valuable player after hitting .444 with 3 doubles and 2 homeruns. In his 37 games played so far in 2025, Barrow is hitting .283 with 3 doubles and 3 homeruns. He also has 16 RBI’s.

In the classroom at SJR State, Barrow has excelled. He was named to the Mid-Florida conference all-academic team and the FCSAA All-Academic team. Barrow will graduate at the end of this month with his AA degree from SJR State.

According to SJR State’s head baseball coach and athletic director Ross Jones, Barrow is a leader on and off the field.

“His work ethic and character are among the best of any baseball player that I have had the pleasure to be around in my 33 years in coaching,” Jones said. “Ben Barrow very simply exemplifies what every college coach wants in his players. He’s tough, first class and highly principled. Ben is the perfect Viking to win the John Tindall endowed scholarship.”

The scholarship was established in 2011 in honor of former coach John Tindall, who devoted 30 years to coaching the Vikings through 591 wins and nine Region VIII tournament appearances, placing him in the nation’s top 10 for career wins at the time of his retirement in 1997.

SJR State is home to one of the first baseball teams within the Florida College system. In 1961, the Vikings took the field for the first time and have since dedicated the past 60 years to building a solid reputation for producing superior student-athletes.