J.D. graduated from Austin Westlake High School in 1992 where he played football and baseball. While at Westlake he earned All District, All Cen-Tex, and All State honors in baseball his junior and senior seasons.

After high school, J.D. attended The University of Texas on a baseball scholarship. He lettered from 1993-1995 and compiled a career record of 31-9 while earning numerous all conference awards. During his stay at UT, J.D. majored in Sport Management with a minor in Business. He was also a member of the Athletic Director’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll.

In 1995 the Montreal Expos selected J.D. in the fourth round of Major League Baseball’s Amateur Draft. He quickly moved through the Expos farm system and in 1999 he made his Major League debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also pitched at the Major League level with the Texas Rangers in 2001. J.D. retired from baseball after the 2001 season due to numerous arm injuries.

After his playing career, J.D. worked for an athlete representation firm based in the Washington D.C. area. While there, J.D. represented numerous first and second round draft selections.

J.D. resides in Austin, TX with his wife Teri.