EMERSON,
Ga. – The Kentucky Baseball Club’s Prime team, out of
Nicholasville, Ky., have done well for themselves at this year’s
17u WWBA National Championship. Their pool, Pool H, is one of the
more competitive pools in the entire tournament, and going into this
tournament KBC Prime knew it would a close race to decide the
eventual pool winners.
Entering
Tuesday's play they had posted a 3-1 record, but so had two other
teams, including the dangerous 643 DP Cougars who have been
consistently successful in PG events this summer. KBC isn’t
sweating it, as all they can do is continue to win games and let the
other teams do what they will.
Their
matchup on Tuesday afternoon at LakePoint against the NCBA Spikes was
a close one, but KBC Prime showed resiliency and ended up with a 4-2
win. They got down early due to a two-run home run in the third
inning, but their starter, Aiden Elias, bore down after that and
tossed a gem. Elias went the full seven innings, striking out six and
allowing just the two runs on four hits and a walk. After the home
run in the third the Spikes would fail to even put a runner in
scoring position the rest of the way.
At
that point it was up to the bats of KBC to bail them out, and that
they did. Timely hitting was the story of this game, and they were
able to produce some clutch offense late in the game that got them
the win, including a decisive three-run fifth inning.
KBC
Prime Head Coach Jordan Tarrence was impressed with the way his boys
stepped up to win Tuesday's game.
“We
had timely hitting today, and that’s something that we were
missing,” Coach Tarrence said after the game as his club moved to
4-1. “We had good swings early in the count, and made sure we were
tough with two on us, and just made sure we got on base. Once they
were on, we drove ‘em in, and did a nice job of doing that.”
Many
players contributed to those two important innings of offense, one of
them being star outfielder Jaren Shelby, who went 1-for-3 with a
stolen base and a run scored. Jaren has all of the tools that any
coach could ask for, flashing a fantastic 60-yard dash time of 6.80
seconds and an incredible arm that recorded 95 mph velocity from the
outfield at last month's PG National Showcase.
Not
only does Jaren have the talent, but he also has the attitude. This
is a kid that loves the game of baseball, and he has pep in his step
every single time he steps on the field.
Maybe
part of the reason that he is so passionate about baseball has to do
with the fact that he has been around the highest level of baseball
his entire life. Jaren’s father, John Shelby, is an outfield and
assistant hitting coach for the Milwaukee Brewers, and played 11
years in the big leagues. John Shelby spread out his playing career
with three different clubs, including the Baltimore Orioles from
1981-87, the L.A. Dodgers from 1987-90, and the Detroit Tigers from
1990-’91. He had .239 career batting average with 70 home runs and
313 RBI in 1,036 games.
Jaren
feels that growing up around that kind of baseball was an awesome
experience, and having a father that had that type of knowledge
really gave him an advantage.
“It’s
a huge advantage being around the game like that,” Jaren Shelby
said of his background. “Growing up in that family, you just had to
love baseball, and if you did, there was always a resource. There’s
just so much knowledge that comes with being surrounded by the game
like that, so you just have to take it in and put it together.”
Jaren
even had the fortunate opportunity to travel with his Dad and be
around the dugout and players when he was growing up. Being around
that atmosphere is every young ballplayers dream, and Jaren was able
to experience it firsthand.
“We
always traveled with him when he was with Dodgers, Pirates, and the
Orioles,” Shelby added. “We were catching major league fly balls
when they were shagging at, like, six-years-old. It was just fun to
be in the club house and learn the major league mentality.”
When
Jaren Shelby says “we” he's referring to his five siblings, three
of which have baseball backgrounds of their own. His oldest brother,
John T. III, is an area scout with the Brewers in Florida, another
brother, Jeremy, played in the Orioles organization in 2010, and yet
another brother, JaVon, is coming off of a successful sophomore
season playing for the Kentucky Wildcats.
As
a result, Jaren certainly has that Major League mentality down, as he
is a kind of player with a motor that never stops running. He gives
100 percent effort all the time, and that’s really the only way
that he knows how to play the game.
“I
feel like I’m always going to give 100 percent, and I can accredit
that to football,” Shelby said. “I always have that extra fire,
and I feel like I can put it together. Talent can take you one way,
but character is going to get where you need to be, and I feel like I
have that. I just always believe I can get the job done.”
Coach
Tarrence has been coaching up Jaren since he joined KBC back when he
was 13, and he can’t say enough about how much this young man
contributes to the team.
“He’s
a great team guy,” Tarrence said of his star player. “He’s
always smiling and pumping up his teammates. As a player, he’s
fast, can hit for power, is smart on the field and has a good arm.
Anything that you need done on the baseball field, he can do for
you.”
Jaren
is in the midst of the recruiting process, and is taking his decision
as to where he wants to play one day at a time. He’s received
multiple offers, including an offer from University of Kentucky,
where his older brother, JaVon, plays ball at. Being from Lexington,
and given the family ties, UK would be a great fit for Jaren, but he
wants to play the field and really give other schools a good hard
look.
“UK
is up there for me, and I could see myself there,” Shelby said. “I
just want to give it a little more time. Florida was talking to me,
and I really like them. UF and UK are the main schools I’m looking
at.”
The
offers will be there, but right now, Jaren is focused on simply
improving his baseball skills in any way possible. Jaren has been
working tirelessly to up his game, and it really showed at this
year’s PG National Showcase. Coming into the showcase, Jaren wasn’t
ranked extremely low, but by the end of it, he made a jump in the
rankings that put him in the top 25 of all players in the 2016 class.
“The
showcase was great. I’ve always wanted to be around players like
that; it’s great being around players who have the same focus and
same goal,” Shelby added. “The talent there was crazy too. I felt
kind of at home, so I just had to play my game, keep to myself, and
just ball out.”
As
noted, KBC Prime is now 4-1 in pool play with one more game to go,
but they're going to need some help, as they've tied with two other
teams in their pool – the 643 DP Cougars Pralgo and the Austin
Banditos – and they have given up the most runs of the three.
Win
or lose, Jaren will look to finish this tournament out strong and he
hopes that his KBC Prime squad can continue to play solid baseball as
pool plays comes to an end. The sky is the limit for Shelby, and with
a great supporting cast, a good head on his shoulders and amazing
talent, he should go far.