Following in former Jet Scott Hornstra’s footsteps – outfielder Mark Clauson has committed to play for the Colby Community College Trojans – Colby, Kansas – in the fall of 2008.  Clauson signed a letter of intent this past week and received an athletic scholarship to compete in the Jayhawk conference.

Coach McTavish had this to say about Clauson, “Mark has really made tremendous strides over the past 18 months.  Mark has not only became a much better player but, a better student and person.  Mark has developed into a leader with our club and worked his way into becoming one of our most consistent and productive hitters in our line-up.” 

The entire VAB would like to wish Mark all the success in the future!

Dustin Thompson committed to play for NCAA Division 3 Spalding University Golden Eagles in Louisville, Kentucky for Coach Rory Jackson.  Thompson received a very good academic scholarship as NCAA Division 3 programs are unable to issue athletic scholarships.  Thompson is planning on enrolling in the Education Field and someday becoming a science and PE teacher.  For more information on Spalding University please see the following link: http://www.spalding.edu/content.aspx?id=1854&cid=500

Coach McTavish had this to say about Thompson, “Dustin has came a very long way in his career at the VAB.  He represents everything we preach at this Academy – Better Person/Better Player (in that order)!  Dustin will be a very good student-athlete for the Golden Eagles and we look forward to following his progression.  He is maturing into a quality student-athlete and has been a pleasure to coach and we will miss him with the Jets next season.”

2006-2007 graduate Curtis Smith (LHP) has been named NSIC NCAA Division 2 Conference pitcher of the week.  Smitty ended the week with a 2-0 record in Florida and didn’t allow an earned run over 11 innings of work.  Congrats Smitty!

Click here for more details:  http://smsumustangs.com/News/baseball/2008/3/18/CurtisSmith.asp

Tanner Craswell – Charlottetown, PEI – has accepted an athletic
scholarship to the College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles (CSI) in
Twins Falls, Idaho coach by Boomer Walker.

CSI is one of the top junior college programs in the USA and plays in
the Scenic West Conference (ranked as one of the top Division 1 Junior
College Conferences in the country). CSI has produced over 25 NJCAA
All-Americans and over 90 players have went on to play professional
baseball.

Coach McTavish had this to say about Craswell becoming a Golden Eagle,

“Tanner has a chance to be a very special college player and
potentially play the game professionally. Tanner has great hands and
actions in the infield. His hitting ability has really improved over
4 months and we are very excited to where it will end up. If Tanner
improves his foot speed a bit he can play all infield positions very
well and shows signs of being a game breaker. The VAB is proud of our
1st player from PEI and look forward to his progress over his career.”

Lionel Morrill – Edmonton, AB – has accepted an athletic scholarship
to the College of Southern Idaho Golden Eagles (CSI) in Twins Falls,
Idaho coach by Boomer Walker.

CSI is one of the top junior college programs in the USA and plays in
the Scenic West Conference (ranked as one of the top Division 1 Junior
College Conferences in the country). CSI has produced over 25 NJCAA
All-Americans and over 90 players have went on to play professional
baseball.

Coach McTavish had this to say about Morrill becoming a Golden Eagle,

“Lionel is one of the most athletic players I have ever coached. His
running ability and arm strength is outstanding. As he continues to
develop as a hitter he will have a very good chance to play
professional baseball and someday maybe play on TV. Lionel has
developed into a solid student-athlete with a very high ceiling and
bright future ahead of him. The VAB is very proud of the development
Lionel has shown both on and off the field of play.”

Morrill and Craswell will follow in Coach Kotkas’s footsteps (who
played for the Golden Eagles in 1983 and 1984). Coach K won the NJCAA
World Series at CSI in 1984.

Chad Northcott – Vauxhall, AB/Rocky Mountain House, AB – has accepted an athletic scholarship to Indians Hills Community College in Centerville, Iowa coached by Cam Walker.

Indian Hills Falcons are a Division 1 Junior College and have historically been ranked in the top 15 Nationally. The Falcons have had over 100 student-athletes signed professionally and over 200 student-athletes who have gone on to compete at major Division 1 schools.

Coach McTavish had this to say about Northcott becoming a Falcon,

“Chad may be our most improved player throughout our first 2 seasons. His running ability, hitting ability and defensive play have come a very long way and are only going to continue to improve. This past fall Chad did not make an error defensively and led our team in stolen bases. Chad is going to have a great college career and we are proud to say he is a Jet.”

Chad is going to be the first player out of the VAB to join the Falcons and we look forward to more in the future.

2nd year Senior infielder – Dale Anderson signed a National Letter of Intent with the University of Buffalo Bulls for the fall of 2008. Dale accepted an athletic and academic scholarship to attend the U of B. This tops off a very successful career that includes 3 trips with the Canadian Junior National Team throughout the Dominican Republic, Missouri, and Florida. Coach McTavish had this to stay about Anderson, “The VAB is extremely proud to have Dale become our 1st NCAA Division 1 student-athlete. Dale illustrates the true meaning of what it means to be a “student-athlete” through his work in the weight room, classroom, on the field of play, and off the field throughout the community.”

Dale will end up playing close to his older brother and former Jet – Zane Anderson as he attends the Gannon University in Erie, PA.

http://www.ubathletics.buffalo.edu/ (Click here for the U of B website).

The VAB had an up and down fall as far as wins and losses is concerned. The most important part of “up and down” is that the “up” portion came at the end of the fall. After struggling through the middle portion of the schedule the Jets finished with a record of 5-2-1 against primarily junior college competition. This was a great sign as the players began to make considerable adjustments mentally and physically which should only improve over the winter months. Overall, the Jets ended the fall campaign with a 12-13-1 record against teams from Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alberta and SK. Although, the 2007 club is much younger than the previous season it shows to be just as promising.

The fall season ended with the 2nd annual 100 inning Marathon game. The day entailed great weather, lots of fun on the field with family and friends as well as rebuilding the bullpens and catching areas. As of November 11th over $13,000.00 has been raised with all dollars raised going directly back to the student-athletes. Thank you to everyone that has supported the Academy to date and especially the businesses and individuals that support our athletes through pledges for the Marathon Game. See you in the spring.