Alumni Report: Nobody’s Quacking Up Over Oregon Baseball Anymore

As a middle-schooler, Aaron Jones experienced firsthand what constituted a winning baseball tradition. Today as a collegian, he has the opportunity to help shape one.

Jones is in his freshman season at the University of Oregon and has made a splash with  the young program. His brother, Chris, a former Mission Viejo High standout, played for current Ducks coach George Horton at perennial NCAA baseball powerhouse Cal State Fullerton in 2006 and 2007.

“Aaron grew up around our program,” Horton said. “Before coming [to Oregon] I’d been around him on a social basis, and he was used to me and my personality and as well as my coaching style.”

That familiarity with Horton, Jones said, made Oregon an easy choice—even if the Ducks’ program didn’t come with the championship lineage his older brother was a part of at Fullerton.

Oregon rebooted its baseball program beginning with the 2009 season, ending a hiatus from the sport that began in 1982. Horton’s credentials before assuming the reins included six College World Series appearances—two with Chris Jones—and one championship.

Horton said building that kind of program at Oregon poses challenges of its own.

“When we were going to Omaha [for the College World Series] at Fullerton, a lot of those kids could live at home, be on partial scholarship, and we could still field baseball teams,” Horton said. “Coming [to Oregon] we couldn’t do that. And there was no tradition, no experience.”

He hopes players like Jones will be the building blocks for a Ducks tradition that future recruits will consider when choosing a university.

Coming off a stellar career at San Clemente High, which included a senior campaign that featured nine home runs and 35 runs batted in, Jones had a laundry list of options. Among his suitors were the Boston Red Sox, who drafted him in Round 38 of June’s amateur draft.

“We asked for a lot [on a contract with Boston], because [the Red Sox] were going to have to buy me out of a great opportunity,” said Jones, citing his chance to contribute to a program’s formation, as well as honing his skills under what he called “a great coaching staff.”

The opportunity to play professionally will present itself sooner than later for Jones. He’ll turn 21 years old, the mandatory age for re-entry into the Major League draft, during his sophomore season.

“He came in with high expectations,” Horton said of Jones. “But so do a lot of recruits. He’s one of several in our recruiting class that we have big plans for and high expectations of. The special thing about Aaron is how comfortably he fit in right from the word go.”

And how.

Jones leads all starting Ducks with a .324 batting average and 13 RBIs through Oregon’s first 17 games. He’s shown his ability to provide both power via two home runs and speed, with four stolen bases.

Perhaps most impressive in Jones’s hot start is that he’s playing out of position. Naturally a catcher, Horton has inserted Jones at right field. The Ducks coach said he has also used Jones as both a lead-off and clean-up batter.

Jones said he prefers playing catcher, but “will play anywhere” he’s asked.

Behind the dish, though, is where Horton said he foresees Jones flourishing later into his college career, and beyond.

"With his athleticism and ability to create offense, he’s going to be one of America’s finest professional prospects,” Horton said. “We couldn’t be more pleased with his start. He’s adding tools to his game. His work ethic is good, and his commitment is good. I don’t see anything standing in his way.”

And the head Duck has the credentials to assess potential MLB talent. His CSUF teams produced such pro notables as Aaron Rowand, Reed Johnson and Kurt Suzuki.

Horton’s roots remain deeply planted in Southern California, though the tree now blossoms deep in the woods of Eugene. The Duck roster has a decidedly Orange County flavor to it besides Jones. Starting third baseman J.J. Altobelli (Newport Beach/Woodbridge High) is batting .211 so far this season, but hit .309 in Pacific 10 Conference play last year.

Another freshman, infielder Aaron Payne was a teammate of Jones at San Clemente, where they both earned All-CIF Southern Section recognition last year. Payme has started two games of the Ducks and has one hit in five at-bats.

Catcher Stefan Sabol (Aliso Viejo/Aliso Niguel High), shared the 2010 South Coast League Player of the Year award with Jones. Sabol has played sparingly but has produced solid numbers in his opportunities. He has five hits in nine at-bats and a team-leading .667 on-base percentage.

Oregon’s Class of 2014 also includes pitcher Brandon Brennan (San Juan Capistrano/Capistrano Valley High). Rounding out the county’s representatives is sophomore catcher Erik Bonn (Newport Beach/Newport Harbor High). Neither Bonn nor Brennan have recorded stats this season.

Oregon (10-7) continues its four-game series at the University of San Diego with games today at 11 a.m. and Monday at 1 p.m. The Ducks return to the Southland on April 15-17 for three games at USC.

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Setting lacrosse nets ablaze across the West is Cal State Fullerton’s Mike Ansel (El Toro High). The redshirt junior attacker leads the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Assn. with 44 goals and 10 assists in nine games.

Freshman Jeff Lyon (Lake Forest/El Toro High) has nine goals and 10 assists for the Titans, and senior J.R. Grubert (Mission Viejo/Santa Margarita High) has 13 goals and six assists.

Fullerton (6-3) has four games left in the MCLA Div. II regular season, beginning Thursday at home against Central Washington. After a home match with Concordia on April 8, the Titans travel to UC San Diego, leaders of the MCLA Southwestern Conference’s East Division, for a game on April 12 before closing the season at home against Biola on April 15.

Concordia redshirt freshman attacker Brendan Moyers (Mission Viejo/JSerra) has 11 goals with 17 assists for the Eagles (6-2).

Loyola Marymount is firmly in the MCLA Southwestern Division I title hunt thanks, in part, to eight goals and five assists by junior Nolan Smith (Los Alamitos High).

The Lions host UC Santa Barbara on April 2. The Gauchos are 6-2 behind a strong contingent of Orange County talent.

Sophomore goaltender Andrew Noto (Newport Beach/Corona del Mar) has 97 saves through eight starts. Freshman Alex Mainthow (Corona del Mar) has won 15 ground balls, and sophomore midfielder C.J. Jacobs (Los Alamitos) has netted nine goals and passed seven assists.

Both UCSB and LMU are chasing Chapman, which holds a half-game lead over Gauchos and a 1 ½ game lead over the Lions at 6-1 overall. The Panthers’ roster includes Los Alamitos freshman Michael Marchand and four El Toro alumni: sophomore Ryan Hellmich, senior Eric Baril, senior Andy Salcido, and freshman Matt Lyons, who leads the foursome with eight assists and two goals.

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The NCAA outdoor track and field season gets into full swing later this month with a bevy of events across the nation. The U.S. Track and Field and Cross-Country Coaches Assn. polls include several teams boasting local talent.

On the men’s side, the No. 8 Stanford men’s team has pairs of brothers taking on distance-running duties: sophomores Ryan and Tyler Valdes (San Juan Capistrano/Dana Hills High), and senior J.T. Sullivan and redshirt sophomore Riley Sullivan (Rancho Santa Margarita/Trabuco Hills High).

Freshman Jesus Molina (San Juan Capistrano/Dana Hills) debuted over the weekend for No. 4 Arizona State. Molina ran for the Sun Devils’ cross-country team in the fall and will specialize in distance events this spring.

Another Dana Hills alum, UCLA freshman Kimmie Conner, is slated to compete in the heptathlon and sophomore Turquoise Thompson (JSerra) runs hurdles for the Bruins' womens team, which is ranked No. 25.

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LPGA pro Candie Kung (Fountain Valley) finished in a tie for 16^th at the HSBC Women’s Championship Feb. 27. Kung’s best round was a 70 en route to an overall 289.

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Is there a local alum everybody should know about? Contact Kyle Kensing at kkensing@gmail.com.