PITTSBURGH -- In the coming months, Jared Triolo will hope to graduate from prospectdom. In the interim, Triolo will have to "settle" for a more traditional type of graduation.

Earlier this month, the Pirates’ No. 24 prospect graduated from the University of Houston with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Management, the completion of a process that began six years prior.

“You leave after getting drafted and you watch all your friends walk the stage the next season,” Triolo told MLB.com. “It was really cool to do it, especially back at my own college.”

Triolo, 24, began his undergraduate studies in 2016, but upon being drafted by the Pirates with the 72nd overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, he temporarily placed his educational aspirations on the back burner to focus on his professional career.

Despite the hiatus, Triolo wasn’t away from the books for too long. A two-time All-Academic Team honoree at Houston, he described the desire to finish what he started, and when he realized how much free time he’d have in the offseason, he got back to work. 

Every offseason (excluding 2020) Triolo has enrolled in three or four classes during Houston’s fall semester to accumulate his remaining credits. 

Houston’s fall semester begins during the back end of the Minor League season, but luckily for Triolo, the university established an online undergraduate program that allowed him to complete his coursework virtually until he had an opportunity to return to campus. Triolo’s mother, Lesa, hypothesized a correlation between Triolo’s return to school and his performance.

“My mom always said that as soon as the classes started, I started playing better because I get my mind off of baseball for a little bit before I headed to the field,” Triolo said.

For what it’s worth, Triolo hit .353/.455/.553 in 2021 after the fall semester began in 2021. Triolo only played six games after the beginning of the semester in 2022 due to an injury, but still went 9-for-24 with a homer and three walks.

Along with the graduation, Triolo has had a rather eventful offseason.

In November, he was named the organization’s Bill Mazeroski Defender of the Year, a fitting follow-up after earning the 2021 Minor League Gold Glove Award at third base. Several weeks later, along with catcher Endy Rodriguez and right-handed pitchers Mike Burrows and Colin Selby, Triolo was added to the 40-man roster ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. General manager Ben Cherington said that Triolo, Rodriguez, Burrows and Selby will have a “viable path” to contributing in the Majors in '23.

“It was a little stressful leading up to it, but once [Cherington] called me, it was awesome. Good conversation. Just kind of gave me a little reward for the hard work I’ve been putting in,” Triolo said.

Triolo added: “Whether or not I was put on the 40-man, I think my mindset was that I was going to try to get up to Pittsburgh for this next season. … Obviously, it has a little bit more power now that I’m on it. It’s exciting. It should be a really fun season and hopefully I can get up there quick.”