PressBox recently chatted with Maryland baseball sophomore Chris Hacopian about a bucket-list place he’s never been, his favorite Big Ten road trip and more. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound infielder hit .323/.431/.578 with 26 extra-base hits for the Terps in 2024. He is a native of Potomac, Md., and graduate of Winston Churchill High School.
PressBox: Who was your favorite sports star as a kid?
Chris Hacopian: I really looked up to Francisco Lindor as a kid. I just liked the way he played the game. He always had a smile on his face. He was having fun with it all the time. I really enjoyed that about him.
PB: What would you be if you weren’t a ballplayer?
CH: Throughout the past few years of my life I’ve started developing a stronger faith, so I would say maybe work in some sort of ministry and go on mission trips.
PB: What’s your “guilty” food?
CH: I would say recently it’s been ice cream. I’ll get home after practice after a long day, eat my meal and then I’ll throw on a movie and just have a whole tub of chocolate ice cream.
PB: What’s a bucket-list place you’ve never been?
CH: I like the beach a lot. I like water. I would say one day I would love to get out to Hawaii.
PB: What’s your favorite Big Ten road trip?
CH: Last year Nebraska was a good one. They have a good atmosphere over there and I like that area in the Midwest. This year I’m really looking forward to Indiana.
PB: If you could trade places with any movie or TV character, who would it be?
CH: Off the top of my head, right now I’m watching the first few seasons of “The Arrow.” Oliver Queen’s a pretty cool dude.
PB: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
CH: I’m going to have to go with “Interstellar.”
PB: What’s your go-to karaoke song?
CH: “Your Man” by Josh Turner
PB: What book are you currently reading?
CH: “Mind Gym.” It’s a really good book on the mental part of athletics.
PB: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
CH: I’m sure there’s a lot of great advice I’ve gotten in my life, but something that [Maryland head coach Matt Swope] has been telling myself and other guys on this team is get outside of yourself. When you focus on yourself, life is very self-centered and you’re living in this sort of box. But when you get outside of yourself, you become that good teammate you want to be. I think you actually find that when you get outside of yourself and you focus on other guys more than yourself, that’s when you actually take a leap in your own game.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics
Issue 291: February / March 2025
Originally published Feb. 19, 2025