Jared Young is moving on to the big leagues of college baseball.
Young, a 20-year-old Prince George product, will play on scholarship next school year at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. The Old Dominion Monarchs compete in Division 1 of the NCAA, the highest level of U.S. college baseball and prime scouting territory for Major League Baseball.
"I'm thrilled - it's going to be awesome," said Young, currently a second baseman for the Connors State College Cowboys, who are based in the tiny town of Warner, Okla. "When I went on my visit, it's a massive place and a big school. It's going to be a lot of fun."
The Cowboys play in the top division of the National Junior College Athletic Association. Young is a first-year member of the team but is in his second and final season of eligibility because, as a freshmen, he suited up for the Minot State Beavers (NCAA Division 2) in North Dakota.
Young needed a new baseball home for 2016-17, so his Connors coaches made some phone calls on his behalf. Those calls prompted Old Dominion head coach Chris Finwood to jump on a plane for Oklahoma so he could see Young in action. Finwood was so impressed that he offered to bring Young to Old Dominion for a look-see. Young loved what he saw and accepted a scholarship offer that will cover all of his tuition costs.
For Young, getting to NCAA Division 1 has been a long-term goal and he's thankful to the Connors program and coaches for helping turn objective into reality.
"The head coach for Connors (Perry Keith) is in the NJCAA hall of fame and he's a crazy-good coach," Young said. "And the assistant coach (Bobby Foreman) is just a great guy too. Winning and moving (players) along is all they care about here."
Based on his contributions to the Cowboys this season, Young is certainly deserving of the scholarship. He's the clear-cut starter at second base and, offensively, has a current batting average of .461 - tops on the team and 19th in the entire NJCAA. With six home runs in 36 games, he can also hit for power. As a team, Connors State has rolled to a 33-4 record so far.
Young said the individual and club success has stemmed from the passion he and his fellow Cowboys have for the game.
"There are no rules and regulations for how much you can get on the field so we're out there for four, five hours every day for pretty close to seven days a week," he said. "We'll get a day off every two weeks or something like that.
"When I first got here, it was overwhelming and my body just couldn't handle it," he added. "But I've been here for (seven) months now and it's just the norm. It's just a different lifestyle - like there's nothing else to do in this whole town, other than baseball, so you might as well do it all day long."
Young estimated the town population at 200 full-time residents.
"There's a gas station, a McDonald's and a Subway," he said. "That's the town, and then the school has like 1,500 students."
Young has been just as successful in the classroom as on the ball field. He's a business student at Connors State and is maintaining an 'A' average. At Old Dominion, he plans to study either international business or finance.
As for baseball, he's confident he'll be able to make a smooth transition into the Old Dominion program.
"That's what I'm expecting," he said. "That's what they got me for. They got me for my hitting and I'm hoping that right away it will make a difference. I guess I've proven myself so far at every (level) and hopefully that will keep going. That's my goal."
Young also has no concerns about the defensive side of his game.
"I've worked on that non-stop for the last seven months with the coaches and all the other players and that's been the main key of my game," he said. "If you hit, you play, but if you can play defence you're an extra asset. At second base, I've been beyond happy with how much better I've gotten this last year."
Like many developing ball players, Young would love to ascend to the major leagues one day. But, really, he just wants to stay in the game as long as he can.
"I'll play baseball until I can't play it anymore - until I get a better gig than playing baseball," he said with a chuckle.
