College Baseball Star Opens Up About 'Jerry' -- His Emotional Support Dinosaur

UCLA, the first team to ever go wire-to-wire as the No. 1-ranked college baseball team in the country, clinched the Big Ten Tournament Championship and is a heavy favorite to win the College World Series.

Freshman Angel Cervantes was a big part of the Bruins' rally against Oregon over the weekend, helping UCLA win, 3-2, in extra innings. Cervantes struck out five in five shutout innings. And he did so while having his emotional support dinosaur, "Jerry," on the mound.

"Jerry" has been a constant for those who have followed the Bruins all season long. Still, the small plastic dinosaur was introduced to a national audience on the Big Ten Network this weekend, when the network's sideline reporter shared a story about "Jerry," who is on the mound during each of Cervantes' starts.

The broadcast at Charles Schwab Field in Omaha, Nebraska, zoomed in on the triceratops standing on the mound as Cervantes warmed up.

"If it works, it works," one fan commented. "There's always been weird stuff pitchers do. Today a guy has a dinosaur, in the 70s a guy was tripping balls on LSD," which perhaps is in reference to Dock Ellis pitching a no-hitter while under the influence of LSD.

Another opined, "Smart move. When he's in the bigs he can grab some marketing/branding from it."

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Sports section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 11:36 AM.