JACKSON — Kendall Logan was a little sick of the stereotype.

The former Natchez High School standout and 2012 SWAC baseball player of the year may have run out of eligibility, but in his mind, he’ll always be a student-athlete. And Logan said he was always aware of the stereotype that student-athletes weren’t as smart as other students.

“I just like to show people that not all athletes are dumb,” Logan said. “I think that’s unfair.”

And it’s hard to argue in Logan’s case, as the former Jackson State baseball standout graduated magna cum laude May 4 with a civil engineering degree.

“I felt really good about it,” Logan said after finding out he graduated with honors. “I know I put in a lot of hard work over the last couple of years, with all the late nights finishing projects, so graduating with those type of honors felt really great.”

The trick, Logan said, was always making sure he went to class — and actually paying attention while he was in class.

“You have to pay attention and not just go to class,” Logan said. “If you put in the effort to pay attention, you should retain some of the information. You may not be excellent at that, but you should retain enough to where you can pass the class.”

Logan’s baseball eligibility ended in 2012, but he stuck around at Jackson State another year to finish his civil engineering degree. He said not having to balance school and sports made things slightly easier.

“I had a lot more time to do work, but I still did the same things I would usually do, which was procrastinate and wait until the last minute,” Logan said. “None of that changed, I just had more down time.”

While procrastinating isn’t recommended, Logan said he was still able to get everything done on time.

“I have been doing that since I was in high school,” Logan said. “It’s still nerve-racking at times, but as long as I get it done, I’m all right.”

The motivation to make good grades is something Logan’s parents, Chris and Shelia Logan, instilled in him at a young age, he said.

“Ever since I was younger, my dad said grades come before everything,” Logan said. “My mom would reward me for good grades at times, especially when I was younger. I still feel good about making good grades.”

Jackson State will play LSU at 2 p.m. today in the Baton Rouge Regional in the first round of the postseason. LSU may be a heavy favorite, but Logan said he has confidence in Jackson State heading into their first postseason game.

“If they go out and do what they’ve been taught, they can win,” Logan said. “If you hit the ball well, pitch well and play defense, you can beat anyone, no matter who they are.”

Sometimes, Logan said he longs for his playing days to come back.

“I miss (playing) a lot,” he said. “At times, I would go out to the field and watch them practice a little bit, but that’s all I could do. I could only stay a couple of minutes, because I missed it so much.”

A former 46th-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft, Logan said he still has baseball aspirations.

“Right now I’m interested in playing with my brother (Cameron Logan) and getting back into it,” Logan said. “I’m just going to train, get back in baseball shape and hopefully get picked up by someone.”

That will hopefully be a minor league or independent league team, Logan said.

“As long as I can get on a team and fulfill my dreams, I’m happy,” he said. “But if that doesn’t happen, that’s what I went to school for. I still have my engineering degree.”