How Arkansas landed Jayson Jones, a top-10 recruit in 2022
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The coronavirus pandemic might have spoiled Jayson Jones’ plans to make it to Baum-Walker Stadium for a game, but he wasn’t going to let it delay his decision any longer.
Having weighed his many options, the shortstop out of Braswell High in Denton, Texas, announced his commitment to Arkansas late Thursday night via Twitter.
The top player in the Lone Star State and No. 7 overall prospect in the Class of 2022, according to Perfect Game, he turned down in-state programs like Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Texas, as well as Oklahoma State, Alabama, Vanderbilt and others.
“I was sitting there one day, thinking about all of my decisions, and whenever I thought of Arkansas, my heart started racing and I got really excited,” Jones told HawgBeat. “That’s when I kind of knew it’s time.
“I felt like Arkansas checked all of the boxes for me. They have a great program, they’re relevant every single year, they’re in the SEC, they have the best fanbase in college baseball, so I was thinking, ‘Let’s do it. I want to be a Razorback.’”
Already standing 6-foot-2 and 200 pounds, Jones has been a known prospect for a while. He received his first offer - from Oklahoma State - when he was 14, with the aforementioned powerhouses following suit.
Jones said he first started getting in contact with the Razorbacks about a year and a half ago and they’ve always been at or near the top of his list, but he wanted to take his time and consider some of the other programs.
Last December, he made it to Fayetteville for a camp and planned to return this spring to experience a game day atmosphere at Baum-Walker Stadium. Even though he wasn’t able to make it before the season was called off in mid-March, Jones said he had already seen enough to make a decision.
“It’s beautiful, I absolutely love it,” Jones said. “I’ve definitely seen a lot of videos on Twitter of a scrimmage being absolutely packed, where there’s 11,000-12,000 fans at a scrimmage.”
At his size, Jones’ biggest strength is his power. Despite being just a sophomore, he has hit multiple 400-foot home runs and his exit velocity has been clocked at more than 100 miles per hour.
In 13 games as a sophomore, Jones slashed .425/.520/.775 with three home runs and 14 RBIs in 40 at bats. He also had more walks (7) than strikeouts (5).
Defensively, most consider Jones a middle infielder, as he’s a shortstop in high school, but he’s also been listed as a third baseman and catcher. He has a strong arm that has touched 90 mph across the diamond and 88 mph on the mound.
His coach at Braswell High is Donnie Watson, who was a head coach at Stephen F. Austin and a longtime assistant at TCU, and he said Jones has the most accurate arm he’s seen in 30 years as a coach.
(MORE: For Watson’s complete scouting report on Jones, click here)
“I would say I want to be a shortstop,” Jones said. “I feel like I definitely got very comfortable, my hands started feeling really fluid, my footwork started getting better, so I feel like I’m definitely a shortstop and I would love to go to Arkansas and be a shortstop.”
The Razorbacks now have 12 commitments in their 2022 recruiting class. Jones is the highest ranked player in the class and one of four top-100 prospects committed, according to Perfect Game. The site ranks Arkansas’ class eighth nationally.
As such a heralded prospect, there is a chance Jones won’t make it to campus. Arkansas experienced that this year when 2020 signees Masyn Winn, Markevian “Tink” Hence and David Calabrese were drafted and signed professional contracts.
However, just a couple of days removed from announcing his decision, Jones was still “beyond excited” about committing to the Razorbacks and admitted the draft in a couple of years wasn’t at the front of his mind.
“I actually have not really thought about it that much,” Jones said. “I’ve been just trying to focus on my development and help my team win, so I haven’t really been thinking about that.”
For a complete list of Arkansas’ baseball commitments in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 classes, as well as updates, clips and links to scouting reports on the recruits, click here.