Sports

DEJARNETTE HIGH ON NEW UAM COACH’S WISH LIST

By Jay Lupo/Of The Commercial Staff
Friday, July 21, 2006 9:13 AM CDT

WHITE HALL — Cory DeJarnette was obviously atop new Arkansas-Monticello baseball coach Ron Hill’s “to do list.”

Hill, who was hired in late June to replace four-year skipper Kevin Downing, was officially announced as the coach at 3 p.m. on July 5. Two hours later, he made a phone call to DeJarnette, a left-handed pitcher/firstbaseman/athlete from White Hall. The next day, Hill paid a visit to Pine Bluff to watch DeJarnette play for Simmons First National Bank’s American Legion team.

That devotion paid off for Hill and the Boll Weevils on Thursday in the library of White Hall High School, as DeJarnette pledged his services to UAM for the next four years.

“UAM was always a school that I’d looked at it,” said DeJarnette, who will be on both academic and athletic scholarship at UAM. “But when Coach Hill called the house the day he got hired and came down to watch me play the next day, that really showed me he had a lot of interest and wanted me on his team.

“I went down there (Monticello) the next week and was real impressed with him (Hill) and the school. That’s when I pretty much made my mind up.”

Hill said that DeJarnette was a top priority and that he wanted to get him on board as soon as possible.

“Cory was definitely one of the guys at the top of the list,” said Hill, who coached at Central (Okla.) University the last 17 years. “That was at the beginning for me and they handed me a list with some recruits on it and people I needed to get in touch with.

“So I talked to Cory and went to Pine Bluff to watch him play the next day. I was impressed. He looked like he had a great swing. I haven’t seen him pitch yet, but I’ve heard nothing but good things. He’ll have the chance to do both for us.”

The Commercial’s 2006 player of the year for high school baseball, DeJarnette had a stellar senior campaign that saw him hit .531 with five home runs and go 9-1 with a 2.16 earned run average for a White Hall club that went undefeated inside the AAAA-Southeast before falling to eventual AAAA state champion Greenwood in the semifinals. That productivity put DeJarnette’s name on the map and he garnered interest from a long list of schools.

On top of the Boll Weevils, Southern Arkansas University, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Arkansas-Fort Smith were schools that coveted the left-handed prospect. Ole Miss and Arkansas State also showed some interest. In the end, however, UAM and DeJarnette simply seemed like a match made in heaven.

Long before Hill arrived on campus, UAM was known for its strong forestry and wildlife management program, which happens to be the field DeJarnette wants to study in college. In Monticello, the 18-year-old will have an immediate chance for playing time and won’t be limited to just pitching. The campus is a little more than an hour’s drive from Pine Bluff, meaning his parents and high school coach Skip Carr will have the opportunity to see him play on a regular basis.

“It’s really a perfect fit for me,” DeJarnette said. “I feel like UAM has the most advantages for me, both in baseball and in school. It’s got the major I’m interested in and Coach Hill is willing to let me pitch and play in the field. So I don’t have any doubt that it’s the right decision.”

DeJarnette’s father, Tim, agreed.

“Cory’s interest in forestry and wildlife management was really a big plus as far as UAM goes,” Tim DeJarnette said. “He didn’t want to go out of state and he didn’t want to go to a junior college. After Coach Hill was hired, he showed an immediate interest in Cory right off the bat. He really made him feel wanted, and that’s big. Plus, he’s probably not going to limit Cory to just pitching or just hitting and playing in the field. He can do both.

“So those things along with the academic areas of strength really sealed the deal for us.”

Looking at his high school statistics, it’s easily evident that DeJarnette is comfortable toeing the rubber or stepping into the batters box, but the left-hander also has good speed and an amazing glove. He didn’t commit a single error in 2006. Such overall talent would seem to attract major Division I schools and while some, such as Ole Miss, nibbled at the bait, no major universities ended up taking a bite.

“College baseball recruiting is a funny process,” Tim DeJarnette said. “Getting matched up with the right school and the right coach and the right situation, it’s a bit of a juggling act.

“Ole Miss was on him early, but they wanted him to wait. But you can reach a certain point where you can’t wait anymore, and that’s where we were. UAM made us a very, very generous offer and Cory loved the school and the coach, so there was no reason to wait any longer.”

So what kind of player will Hill be getting next season? Well, DeJarnette’s old coach, Carr, has a pretty good idea.

“I’m so happy for Cory,” said Carr, whose teams are 27-1 inside the AAAA-Southeast the past two seasons. “UAM is getting a tremendous player. I mean Cory didn’t make a single error all season. That, in itself, is phenomenal.

“I’m just glad he’s going to a place that won’t limit him to just pitching, because that would take a part of his game away that makes him so good. If he’ll down there and work hard, like I know he will, Cory will be a great four-year player for UAM.”