Young takes glove to Oklahoma

From the prairies of North Dakota to the plains of Oklahoma, Jared Young is moving up in the college baseball world.

Coming off a stellar freshman season playing for the Minot State Beavers in North Dakota, the 20-year-old infielder/pitcher from Prince George has transferred to Connors State in Warner, Okla., to play Division 1 ball for the Cowboys in the National Junior College Athletic Association.

"It's going to be a lot of fun, it's a baseball town and a baseball school," said Young.

"I'm going there for one reason - to get better. They finished fifth in the nation (in 2015), they're extremely good. It's a two-year school and it's basically a feeder program for the NCAA, which is what I'm hoping to do."

Young made a name for himself in a hurry at Minot State, earning a spot on the 2015 ABCA/Rawlings NCAA Division II Central All-Region team. His .398 batting average led the Beavers. In 44 games he collected 35 RBI on 64 hits, including 18 doubles, three triples and five home runs, for a .627 slugging percentage.

Young's numbers on the ball diamond combined with his academic standing made it an easy sell for the Cowboys, who were tipped off about Young based on the recommendation of local ball player Paul Wilson. Wilson phoned his former Southwestern Oklahoma teammate, Albis Ramos, now a high school coach in Oklahoma, and he put the Cowboys on to Young.

While Young had an exceptional season, the Beavers did not. They finished near the bottom of the Northern Sun Conference standings with an 8-26 record and were 11-34 overall in 2015. Connors State went 14-6 in NJCAA Region 2 conference play and 47-12 overall.

"I had a good year and that helped get me to a new place," said Young. "This team doesn't accept losing very well.

"I've never been to Oklahoma and I don't know much about it. I just know it's a pretty good place to go if you want to continue your career. I'm guessing I'll be playing second base but I don't know."

One thing's for certain, the Oklahoma climate is much better suited to baseball. Warner averages six inches of snow per year and winter conditions last only a couple of months, while Minot gets 43 inches of the white stuff annually and the fields are covered five months of the year. Much of Young's time there was spent on an indoor field.

At Connors State, Young will continue his studies in business administration on a one-year full-ride scholarship. He leaves for Oklahoma today and classes begin on Monday. He's been playing this summer in the Northland Dodge Senior Baseball League with the DOB Contracting Gladiators.