  |
 |
 Baseball Player Inducted in 2006 Mitch Jones was an outstanding baseball player at Utah Valley State in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. He finished his career as the most prolific home run hitter in UVSC history, cranking out 41 homers in his two seasons with the Wolverines. Jones played during UVSC's NJCAA era, and left holding a host of single and two-year career records. He set the UVSC single-season record with 23 homers in 1998, and the single game record with three dingers against North Idaho on May 9, 1997. He held the career grand slam record with three, and held UVSC records for the most career at bats (368), runs (120), and bases on balls (68). He set a UVSC record with eight consecutive hits in 1997. He was second in career doubles (31), second in career slugging percentage (.777), and fourth in career hits (126). Jones had 10 multiple homer games and was a career .345 hitter. He earned All-Conference, All-Region, and NJCAA All-America recognition. Jones came to UVSC after an outstanding high school career. He lettered in football and baseball at nearby Mountain View High in Orem, Utah. He captained the baseball team and earned All Region and All State recognition. His senior year he hit .560 with 10 home runs. Jones continued his dominance on the diamond after leaving UVSC. He played his final two years of collegiate baseball at Arizona State. He set a single-season record for ASU with 27 homers in 2000, and led the nation in that category. He also set an ASU record with 49 extra-base hits that year, and wound up with the best career slugging percentage in ASU history (.731). He was a consensus first-team All-American, and was drafted in the seventh round by the New York Yankees. Jones is in his sixth season in the Yankee organization. In the minor leagues, he has won home run titles four times. He began by taking the crown in the short-season New York Penn League in 2000 with 11 long balls. He hit 21 homers in 2001 to win the Florida State League title, 23 to win the Eastern League title in 2003, and 39 more to claim the Eastern League title again in 2004. He has won home-run derbies at All-Star games at the A, AA, and AAA levels. Mitch's sister, Ericka, was a softball pitcher for UVSC in 2004 and 2005. Mitch is married to the former Tavi Hawkins of Kanab, Utah. They have a son, Easton Jones. |
|
|
Utah Valley State College Athletics Hall of Fame
|
|
||||||
