Pope was a 1st team All DFAL pitcher as a senior at Las Lomas High School. He was voted the DFAL Pitcher of the Year that same season.

As a freshman at CSU East Bay, he was 0-0 over 9 appearances with the Pioneers. Pope had a breakout season as a sophomore where he went 8-3 with a ERA of 3.63 over 13 appearances for a team that was 32-18 and one game away from the CCAA playoffs.

During the summer of 2013, Pope pitched for the Marysville Goldsox and was 1-1 with an ERA of 3.34. His win-loss record was misleading, as Pope came out of several games during the 2013 season with his team in the lead.

Pope suffered a similar fate in his junior year at Cal State East Bay. The junior was 4-5 on the year, but pitched in games where there were several misques behind him on defense. When Pope was on, he was on - with his best performance being a victory over nationally ranked #5 Chico State where he did not allow at hit until the 6th inning.