Baasil Ebrahim ’17 Speaks with Sports Analytics Club

Rutgers Prep alum Baasil Ebrahim ’17 recently spoke with the Sports Analytics Club and its faculty advisor, Geoff Loose, about his work as a Quantitative Analyst for Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds.

During the Zoom call, Baasil explained that his path to a career in professional sports began back in eighth grade. That was when he read “Moneyball,” a book that revolutionized baseball with its focus on data-driven scouting and decision-making. The book brought together two of his passions: baseball and math.

After attending the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference with Mr. Loose, the two founded the Sports Analytics Club at RPS to foster conversations on campus about sports from an analytical perspective. In his junior and senior years, he completed research projects and an independent study on sports analytics, allowing him to dive deep into the field and explore its growing literature.

When he graduated from Rutgers Prep, Baasil attended Johns Hopkins University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in applied mathematics and statistics. There, he worked for the university’s athletics department, tracking statistics for various sports, which gave him valuable hands-on experience with data collection and an appreciation for the work that goes into it.

Baasil’s early career took him outside of sports analytics, with internships at Johnson & Johnson and Bloomberg and a position at Accenture Federal Services. However, his passion for the subject eventually led him back to the diamond. Determined to pursue a career in baseball, he applied to every analytics position available and was hired by the Reds as a Baseball Analytics Trainee. He has since been promoted to Quantitative Analyst.

Baasil described his work as similar to other data science roles, where he uses analytics to support decision-makers. His responsibilities include player projections, with significant updates throughout the baseball season, and regular collaboration with on-field staff and front office leadership, including the President of Baseball Operations and the General Manager.

Baasil offered advice to students interested in sports analytics: consume as much relevant content as possible, attend conferences, and work on projects to gain hands-on experience. He also emphasized the importance of learning SQL, Python programming, and regression analysis for anyone aspiring to enter the field.

Watch the full conversation between Baasil and Mr. Loose below: