Hitting left handed stuck with Jones and with age and strength, he has earned quite a reputation as a power hitter. On signing day in November of 2015, Husky Coach Lindsay Meggs lumped huge praise on Jones.

“He is a game changer,” Meggs said at the time. “When he steps in the batter’s box, everything comes to a screeching halt. If you don’t get excited watching Christian swing the bat, then you don’t love the game of baseball. Before it’s all over, every Husky Baseball fan is going to remember watching Christian Jones at Husky Ballpark.”

That may seem like hefty praise and a lot of pressure for any player, let alone a freshman, but Jones might just be up to the task of living up to those expectations. He’s played on the big stage before – both on the baseball diamond and on the basketball court.

Jones helped lead his Federal Way hoops team to back-to-back Washington 4A State Championships, including a perfect 29-0 season in 2016. In a 66-54 victory over Kentwood in the final game, Jones had 18 points and 12 rebounds. He was the player of the game in what would be his final high school basketball contest.

Although he misses basketball – the sport which he calls his first love – he knows he is playing the right sport.

“I played basketball and baseball through high school and during the summer of my freshman year I played both,” recalled Jones. “Someone told me I would be really good at baseball so I listened. I stopped playing summer basketball. I missed my friends, a lot who play D1 basketball, but I focused on baseball.”

This past fall was actually the first time in forever that Jones truly concentrated on one sport. With no basketball to prepare for, Jones spent countless hours in the weight room and in the “man cave” which serves as the UW’s batting cages just down the first-base line at Husky Ballpark. All the hard work is already paying off for Jones.

“I never played one sport my whole life,” said Jones. “I can’t wait to play one sport and see how much I improve. I have already seen myself improve.”

He hasn’t totally given up on basketball. It’s just now he gets to participate in the sport as a fan. He attends as many Husky games as possible with teammates. And he still uses his basketball skills to get into the door, however possible.

Jones turned a chance encounter with one of Husky Basketball’s all-time greats into a friendship. He was working out at a gym in Seattle when Nate Robinson walked through the doors. Jones introduced himself to Robinson and the pair became fast friends and Jones now has a new occasional workout partner.

“He is a funny dude,” Jones said of Robinson. “He really pushes me to be good because he sees my potential and all the work I put in.

“My personality with athletes and celebrities, I am not star struck because they do the same things as me. So meeting him wasn’t a big deal. I just told him I played baseball at UW and he was like, ‘Man I wish I played baseball when I was younger.’ Older people understand how cool it is to play baseball.”

Jones also hopes to show younger people it is cool to play baseball. In 2016 according to USA Today, just eight percent of MLB players were African American, well below the national population of roughly 14 percent. Jones is hoping to help change that trend, but it is not why he plays baseball, nor will he let race define him as a player.

“That’s nothing I even think about,” said Jones. “I play the game for myself. I am not worried about what people say or think. But when African Americans think of baseball they think of it as a slow sport, that’s why they play football or basketball.”

The Purple Reign is Headed to Eugene

Dawg Training at Husky Stadium // 10.10.18

By Rich Myhre