While playing high school football, Jake Ratzlaff was so good he was named the Metro Player of the Year in 2020 and a four-star recruit.

While playing high school hockey, Jake Ratzlaff was so good he was chosen to captain a USA Hockey select team at an international tournament and was pursued by several of the nation’s top college programs.

Now, as a college athlete, Ratzlaff has earned the rare opportunity to play both sports at the highest level… at two different colleges.

Click the video box at the top of this page to watch KSTP Sports’ story on the rare opportunity Rosemount-native Jake Ratzlaff earned to play two different Division I sports at two different colleges… and click the video box below (or swipe the top frame on the mobile app) to watch extended interviews with Ratzlaff and St. Thomas hockey head coach Rico Blasi

Jake first committed to the University of Minnesota to play college hockey. But, when a football scholarship was later offered by the University of Wisconsin, Jake flipped allegiances – and sports – to began his college career in Madison.

After several injuries on the football field limited his playing time and left him facing the prospect of needing major surgery to try to return, he thought about potentially shifting back to hockey – unsure at first where it might lead.

He played in a couple intramural games at Wisconsin, then was given a chance to skate with the nearby Madison Capitols in the United States Hockey League – the top junior hockey league in the country.

While playing for the Capitols, several colleges spotted him and began conversations about possible spots on their hockey teams.

Eventually, things clicked between Ratzlaff and the University of St. Thomas – and he transferred back home to join the Tommies in their infancy as a Division I program.

St Thomas moved up from Division III in 2021, and have recently been given the greenlight by the NCAA to complete their probationary period a year earlier than originally detailed. St Thomas’ teams will likely be eligible for the NCAA’s Division I postseason tournaments starting in the 2024-25 season.

That matches up with what will be Ratzlaff’s final year of eligibility.

The Tommies started slowly this year, but a seven-game point streak in January and a 5-game win streak that concluded the regular season saw them wrap up with a 16-13-5 record.

They landed the #3 seed for the CCHA playoffs which gives them home ice for this weekend’s first round, best-of-three series against Ferris State (13-18-3).

Without the chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament until next year, winning the conference tournament is the Tommies’ ultimate goal this season.