Jordan shortstop earns baseball All-American honors

By Ron Bevan |  [email protected] 

The season hadn’t even begun, but awards were already piling up for Jordan’s Jacob Shaver.

Shaver was named to Collegiate Baseball News’ 2019 preseason high school All-American baseball team. Shaver plays shortstop for the Beetdiggers.

According to the Collegiate Baseball News, the players on this list “have demonstrated amazing athletic ability and talent in their respective positions and are among the most sought after players by pro scouts and college recruiters.”

The 5'10", 180-lb. senior is the son of Greg and Shelby Shaver. He has been a mainstay on the Jordan team since he was a freshman, and was instrumental in last year’s championship season for Jordan.

“He is a hard worker that loves to play baseball,” Jordan coach Chad Fife said. “He doesn’t take a day off. Last year he had a state record for hitting triples, which not only shows his batting abilities but his speed on the base paths. Nobody else on the All-American team came close to the number of triples he hit.”

Shaver batted .479 last season, hitting seven doubles, 11 triples and seven home runs. As the starting shortstop for Jordan, Shaver helped lead the Beetdiggers to a string of 18 straight wins last season, culminating with a 11-1 victory over Olympus to win the state 5A baseball championship.

Shaver began his baseball career at the tender age of 8, playing in the Riverton youth leagues. His talents soon earned him a chance to play for the Utah Horns, a competitive team that has traveled throughout the nation, before landing him at Jordan.

A two-sport athlete at Jordan, Shaver not only shines on the baseball diamond, but also on the gridiron. He led Jordan’s football team last year as a running back, scoring 23 touchdowns and rushing for 1,133 yards.

“My dad played college football, so both myself and my brother gravitated to the sport,” Shaver said.

Although both he and his older brother, Colton, followed their dad in playing football, it was Colton who first led the two to baseball, the sport that has been a passion for the brothers. Colton was drafted by the Houston Astros and now plays in their minor league program. Colton also won a state baseball championship while at Jordan, along with a football title.

“I want to be able to win a second baseball title this year to match his two titles while at Jordan,” Shaver said. “(Colton) left me some big shoes to fill. It has always been in the back of my mind that Colton did this and Colton did that and it kept me working hard. He has been super supportive and has helped me along the way. He had success here at Jordan and he wanted me to have more success.”

Although Jordan is the favored team to win this year’s title, Shaver and the rest of the Beetdiggers know they have their work cut out for them. Jordan lost 13 seniors off last year’s championship team. But this year’s senior class includes not only Shaver but outfielder Hunter Swapp, who has committed to play next season at BYU.

“We do have a lot of young guys this season,” Shaver said. “But every one of them had a good season in junior varsity action last year. They are all talented, so it’s just that our season this year will depend on them stepping up and I know they can do it. It is my job, and Hunter’s job and the other seniors on the team, to help them out with that.”

Shaver has already committed to continuing his baseball career next year. He chose to sign with PAC-12 powerhouse University of Arizona where he will study criminal science.

“The coaches at Arizona are awesome and the program is a good one,” Shaver said. “Plus it is always sunny there. And there is nothing like playing baseball in the sun.”