On June 7, 2024, right-handed pitcher Cody Bowker committed to Vanderbilt as a transfer student from Georgetown. A comment from Commodore and now teammate Jacob Humphrey on Bowker’s Instagram commitment post read, “Reunited.” Humphrey’s comment was more than just excitement to be taking the field with Bowker once again, though; it was a reference to their long-standing friendship and collective representation of their home state.
Roots
Humphrey and Bowker first met as foes on the basketball court for their respective Class AA teams in southern Maine. Both were standout three-sport athletes in high school, with Bowker playing soccer, basketball and baseball for Thornton Academy in Saco. Humphrey, on the other hand, played football, basketball and baseball for Bonny Eagle High School just 30 minutes away in Standish.
“We played against each other in basketball prior to baseball season. And obviously Bonny [Eagle] won,” Humphrey said with a laugh.
The two played travel baseball together for the Maine Lightning when Humphrey was a junior and Bowker was a sophomore. After that, the two went back to being opponents on the field, each playing for their respective schools but remaining close friends. When high school baseball was canceled in the spring of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two occasionally even went fishing together.
Outside of travel baseball, though, the pair had stellar high school careers. In his senior season, Bowker went 7-0 with a 0.47 ERA and an astounding 96 strikeouts, while also hitting .522 at the plate. That same year, Thornton Academy won a state championship and Bowker was named the 2022 Maine Gatorade Player of the Year as well as a finalist for Mr. Maine Baseball.
Humphrey, too, had an impressive high school career, being named captain his senior year and earning an All-State Shortstop selection. He was also awarded the SMAA First Team Shortstop, the 2021 Outstanding Athlete and was a recipient of the Fred Harlow award — an honor given to a player with a strong dedication to baseball and a positive attitude.
Going separate ways
For three years, the two went their separate ways to play collegiate baseball. Humphrey graduated from Bonny Eagle and went to UMass Lowell in the spring of 2021. A year later, in 2022, Bowker graduated and took his talents to Georgetown. Still, in the northeast, the names of the two kids from Maine quickly became known on the national stage.
Humphrey was a starting outfielder from day one at Lowell, batting .327 while collecting 33 extra-base hits and an astonishing 79 stolen bases across his two years with the Riverhawks. After the head coach of Lowell stepped down following Humphrey’s sophomore year, he entered the transfer portal and ultimately chose Vanderbilt.
Any VandyBoys fan was probably unsurprised by Humphrey’s commitment based on head coach Tim Corbin’s history of recruiting from the northeast. During his first season in the SEC, Humphrey was impressive, even while dealing with a shoulder injury that kept him sidelined most of the season. He tallied another 12 stolen bases and hit .226 with a .455 slugging percentage.
Bowker started as a two-way player at Georgetown — batting .280 while recording a 2.57 ERA across 42 innings of work — before transitioning to solely a starting pitcher in his sophomore year, where he boasted a 5-1 record and a 3.00 ERA.
As the two excelled within their respective programs, they, like most Maine natives, stayed in close contact with each other.
“Maine is very small, especially when it comes to athletes, so we always stayed in contact,” Bowker said. “[So] all the people in their respective sports pretty much know each other, [which] made it pretty easy to stay in contact.”
When Bowker’s 2024 season ended and he told Humphrey he was entering the transfer portal, Humphrey knew that he would be the right fit for Vanderbilt.
“I’d say honestly, I reached out to Cody before our coaches,” Humphrey said.
Humphrey’s message to Bowker was pretty straightforward: You will have to work hard, but you will also have a lot of fun.
“[I told him] it was going to be a lot of fun [and] that we had a good opportunity lined up with the guys [that were] returning,” Humphrey said. “I mean, obviously, it’s difficult, but I was honest with how it’s going to be and [how Vanderbilt] fits who he is as a player and a person.”
Bowker, after speaking with Humphrey and the Vanderbilt coaching staff, was convinced. He committed to the Commodores on June 7 — Corbin and Co.’s first 2025 addition from the transfer portal.
Reunited
This season, the pair is once again competing with the same name across their chest, but this time, it’s for a program the two thought was out of reach as high schoolers.
“It’s really kind of surreal to be on this team and actually play here,” Humphrey told the Bangor Daily News last year.
Not only are these two playing with some of the best in the nation, but they are excelling. Bowker has been a permanent fixture in Vanderbilt’s starting rotation since Week One, currently holding a 4.76 ERA across 58.2 innings pitched with 78 strikeouts. Humphrey has also been impressive, slashing .312/.431/.477 with 19 stolen bases.
The pair is living their dream every single day but has come a long way from the small baseball community in Maine.
“It’s pretty cool, to be honest,” Bowker said. “[Humphrey and I] always talk back on these things we used to do in Maine and how small and niche it was. Now, seeing and competing against kids from all over and some of the best players in the country [is] who we dreamed of playing against.”
These two friends, although taking separate paths, are both critical parts of a team that is slated to host a regional in June. When asked about their impact on the Maine baseball community, the two kept it simple.
“It all kind of goes into all the work we put in growing up,” Bowker said. “No matter where you’re from, if you put in the work and [are] a good person, then you can make it wherever you want to go.”
Amongst much discourse on the pitfalls of the transfer portal era, Humphrey and Bowker are examples of success. Overlooked high school prospects can still be SEC athletes, and kids from lesser-known baseball talent pools can still achieve their dreams.
