High School and College
Michaels attended Jesuit High School in Tampa which also produced major leaguers Lou Piniella, Dave Magadan and Brad Radke. He hit over .400 in each of three years for Jesuit. After high school graduation, Michaels was selected in the 49th round of the June 1994 amateur draft by San Diego. He chose not to sign with the Padres and instead attended Okaloosa-Walton Community College in Niceville, Florida where he hit .421 with 9 home runs and 45 RBI and was named Panhandle Conference Player of the Year in 1996.
The Tampa Bay Devil Rays selected him in the 44th round of the 1996 amateur draft, but he again opted not to sign and attended the University of Miami. He lettered in baseball for the Hurricanes in both 1997 and 1998 and was a teammate of San Francisco Giants left fielder Pat Burrell and first baseman Aubrey Huff. In two seasons at Miami, he hit .396 (3rd highest in school history) with 34 home runs (10th) and 154 RBI. In 1997, he set Hurricane single-season records for hits (106), doubles (32) and total bases (189). The St. Louis Cardinals selected him in the 15th round of the 1997 amateur draft, but once again, Michaels did not sign a contract, returning to Miami for his final year of eligibility.
In June 1998, Michaels was selected for the fourth time in the baseball amateur draft, this time by the Phillies in the 4th round. He signed his first professional contract June 19, 1998.
Jason was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame as part of its Class of 2010 ! The ceremony was held prior to the Hurricanes home baseball opener on Friday, Feb. 19th against Rutgers at Alex Rodriquez Park at Mark Light Field on the Coral Gables campus.
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