MARIETTA, Ga. – Once
a Stillwater kid, always a Stillwater kid.
In September of 2012, after being recruited by a number of
Division I schools, Jon Littell committed to play baseball at
Oklahoma State University.
“(I
committed) a little after coach Holliday and his staff got the job.
I’m really looking forward to it, and to staying in town because
I’m a Stillwater kid,” said Littell about his commitment to
Oklahoma State. “I’m really looking forward to just staying in
town.”
Littell
still has one more year left of high school before he moves on to the
next level. He plays baseball at Stillwater High School, one of the
more competitive high schools in the state.
“We
had a good year. We lost a lot of guys from the year before so we had
a young club,” said Littell about his high school team, “We
hosted our regional but got beat out. But all in all we had a good
year with a young team.”
Littell
played in many Perfect Game events including both the 2012 and 2013
Perfect Game East Cobb Invitational, the 2012 South Underclass
Showcase and the 2013 National Showcase that took place a couple of
weeks ago in Minneapolis, Minn.
“It
was a blast getting to play with the top players in the country from
all over,” said Littell about the National Showcase. “Just being
able to compete with different guys and getting to know them was a
great experience and I look forward to making more memories with
those guys.”
The
6-foot-4, 190-pound outfielder is recognized as a 2013 Perfect Game
2nd team preseason high school underclassmen All-American. He is
ranked No. 89 on Perfect Game’s high school class of 2014 national
rankings and is ranked No. 3 overall in the state of Oklahoma.
“It’s
an honor to be listed with those top guys, especially in such a great
baseball state like Oklahoma,” said Littell.
Littell
is competing with the D-Bat Mustangs Oklahoma 18u in the 2013 WWBA
18u National Championship that is taking place this week in Marietta,
Ga. This is his first year playing with the Mustangs, and he is doing
pretty well. He is leading his team so far in RBI with nine, and home
runs with two.
“He’s
been doing great,” said coach Brett Bagley about Littell. “He’s
been hitting the ball well for us (and) playing good center field.
“He’s
had a lot of balls that he’s hit hard that have been caught, or
teams make great plays against him, but he’s hitting the ball
well.”
Bagley
said Littell is calm, cool and collected and handles pressure very
well.
“He’s
real calm, doesn’t get too up or too down,” added Bagley. “His
dad’s a basketball coach at Oklahoma State so he’s been around
the environment a lot.”
The
Mustangs, who now have four wins, one loss and one tie, underwent a
tough, one run loss against Cape Cod Thunder on Tuesday.
“I
just (hope we) keep seeing it well and swinging well as a team,”
explained Littell. “We’ve swung pretty good up until this point.
(This was) a tough game right here, a tough way to go out.
“We’ve
got a shot to win our (pool) and advance on to (playoffs) so we are
looking forward to that.”
Only
the first place team from each pool advances to the playoffs. The
Mustangs are tied for first, but if they can pull off a win on
Wednesday against Akadema Knights 17u, they will advance.
Although
Littell looks forward to playing ball at Oklahoma State, he has
bigger goals in the future for his baseball career.
“I’ve
been talking to a few (pro scouts) and I’m just enjoying the
experience right now.
“(I
hope) to be a big leaguer someday. That’s been my goal since day
one. I’ve been working for that my whole life and that is hopefully
what I accomplish in my baseball career.”