In late September, Jacob Hahn '25 and Ellie Sepulveda ‘25 presented at the Cascadia Symposium on Statistics in Sports (CASSIS). CASSIS is a meeting of statisticians and quantitative analysts connected with sports teams, sports media, and universities to discuss common problems of interest in statistical modeling and analysis of sports data.
Hahn's project focused on the effects of MLB's new 2023 pickoff limit. Using game theory to develop strategies for baserunners and pitchers, Hahn's key recommendation for baserunners is to extend their leadoff distance after each pitcher disengagement. Sepulveda presented her research on sport climbing, where she applied statistical methods to climbing data to better understand how climbers progress and to refine the grading scale used in outdoor climbing.
Both Hahn and Sepulveda had worked with Dr. Scott Powers, Assistant Professor of Sport Analytics, over the past school year to develop the research that they presented. Even before this research opportunity, they agreed that the Sport Analytics major has given them not only a strong analytical background, but also heavily emphasized presentational skills.
“I had the chance to give a 20-minute oral presentation on my research to a large group of sport analytics professionals across a wide variety of sports.” Hahn said. “Being able to meet with industry professionals and share what I’ve been working on was very special and rewarding.”
For Sepulveda, the experience at CASSIS was equally rewarding. Not only did she present her independent research, but she also had the chance to network with professionals and learn from their presentations.
“Getting asked questions about my project was incredibly useful,” Sepulveda said. “Some of the questions were about elements I hadn’t thought of before, while others highlighted areas of the data I could have communicated better or explored further. Presenting my work to an academic audience has given me a clearer idea of what I want to focus on as I continue my research. This project was especially important to me because it allowed me to merge my two passions as I am a professional sport climber in addition to a statistics and sport analytics student.”
Both projects demonstrated the practical application of sports analytics to improve performance and strategy. Their work showcased the diverse range of topics explored within Rice's Sport Analytics major.
“I received a lot of positive feedback from my peers on Jacob’s and Ellie’s presentations.” Powers said. “Thanks to their excellent work, Rice’s profile is rising quickly in the sport analytics industry. This was my first time attending CASSIS, and I was really impressed by the quality of the research presentations. Along with its sibling conference NESSIS, CASSIS is the premier academic sport analytics conference. The event is well attended by industry professionals.”
Hahn and Sepulveda are both double-majoring in Sport Analytics and also Statistics. Hahn is the current Coordinator of analytics for Rice's varsity baseball team and spent last summer with the Seattle Mariners as a Baseball Project Intern. Sepulveda is continuing her research with Powers and spent last summer with the Minnesota Twins as a Sports Science Research Fellow, all while continuing her career as a professional sport climber.
Sergio Rojas, a junior from Houston, Texas, is double-majoring in Business with a concentration in Finance and also Sport Management with a concentration in Leadership.