Shenandoah University Business Student Scores Internship With USA Baseball

Thanks to the skills he’s developed as a Shenandoah University business student – and the network he’s built along the way – David Mann ’27 has secured an internship with USA Baseball as he continues to make strides toward a career in the sports industry.

Mann, who is pursuing a Bachelor of Business Administration with concentrations in sport management and entrepreneurship, begins his internship in baseball operations with USA Baseball in May and will split his summer between the organization’s facilities in Arizona and North Carolina.

Mann discovered the internship after discussions about national governing bodies in sports during a class taught by David Eyl, J.D., chair of the Division of Sport Management and Esports at Shenandoah University, prompted him to research USA Baseball. He initially grew frustrated when his application yielded no response, but he then proceeded to use the network he’d built during a previous internship with the Virginia State Golf Association to land a screening interview with USA Baseball. After two more interviews and a task involving spreadsheets to test his ability to handle the administrative aspects of the role, Mann was offered the job.

Mann said he was informed during the interview process that USA Baseball would hire five or six interns for baseball operations positions out of over 100 applicants.

“I was ecstatic, as this is a very competitive position,” Mann said. “This internship will give me additional experience in sport operations and specifically baseball, which is a sport I love and am very familiar with but am excited to get more work experience in. This will be a great opportunity to help round out my resume.”

As a baseball operations intern, Mann will perform administrative and on-field tasks for USA Baseball tournaments and showcase events held at its complexes in Peoria, Arizona, and Cary, North Carolina. This includes creating travel schedules, coordinating with umpires and ensuring that each baseball field is properly prepared for games – all tasks that are critical to making sure that events stay on schedule.

Mann begins remote work on May 11, before flying out to Arizona in early June.

“USA Baseball prides itself on maintaining the gold-medal standard,” Mann said, “and I hope to do just that by refining my knowledge and skills to be even more of an asset to any organization that I find myself working with in the future.”

Mann has taken advantage of his opportunities at Shenandoah University to put himself in the position to land – and succeed in – a role like the one he will soon begin with USA Baseball. 

He’s part of the university’s Sport Business Association – an initiative within the School of Business that provides experiential learning opportunities for students at high-profile sporting events across the country – and has performed sport management tasks at the NCAA men’s college basketball Final Four, NFL games and numerous other events. He also holds a work-study position with Shenandoah Director of Athletic Communications Matt McIntosh ’23, where he serves in an operations role for all 23 of SU’s intercollegiate sports (Mann is also a member of Shenandoah’s men’s golf team). Through those experiences alone, Mann said he’s built his resume and has countless experiences to pull from during interviews.

Mann also participated in a Shenandoah University Honors Program seminar on professionalism, which he said was designed to help students build their LinkedIn profiles and resumes to prepare them to pursue their desired internships. And he gives a lot of credit to the Shenandoah University Leadership Academy’s Leadership and Mentoring Program (LAMP), through which Mann said he was connected with an “amazing” mentor – Shenandoah alum Malik Henry ’18, ’20, the coordinator of Division III for the NCAA – who has given him great advice every step of the way. 

“Throughout this process, I have learned how important it is to stay persistent and take advantage of your network,” Mann said. “I am grateful to SU for giving me all the opportunities needed to succeed in this role, and for what I continue to learn leading up to my graduation in the spring of 2027!”