Not sure if 10th grade classes still ask students what they did during their summer vacations. If Austin Jobe were asked to stand up before the class and talk about what happened in the summer before his sophomore year, he could smile and say, I committed to play baseball at the University of Arkansas.
Jobe made the verbal commitment over the telephone on Wednesday. The El Dorado sophomore cannot sign until his senior year of high school.
“We’re excited for him,” said El Dorado baseball coach Cannon Lester. “We knew it had really good stuff. I told people he was going to play in the SEC one day. Now, it came earlier than we thought but we’re really excited for him. He’s going to keep progressing. He’s one of the biggest competitors on the field. We’re looking forward to seeing him progress in the future.”
Used mostly as a reliever, Jobe went 2-2 with a 3.71 ERA as a freshman and was named News-Times Rookie of the Year. Over the summer, he pitched for the Arkansas Sticks, an elite-level travel squad.
Jobe said he attended a camp in Fayetteville on Aug. 17 and was pulled aside by one of the coaches.
“He said, “we’re going to contact you.’ They can’t call me, so we had to work through coaches and stuff for me to call him. I called him Wednesday afternoon and he offered. I committed then,” said Jobe, a 6-foot-1 righthander.
“This has always been a dream of mine to play SEC and D-1. So, we talked to Mom and I was like, ‘Hey, this is the University of Arkansas. Why not?’ She said, ‘Yeah, I agree.’ We all agreed. Coaches agreed. And, we thought that was the place I should go.”
Being committed to the Razorbacks could come with a lot of added pressure.
“Yes, it will be but we’re going to do it. We’re going to do it,” Jobe said.
“I think Austin kind of embraces that a little bit,” said Lester. “I actually think that’ll make him better. Now, some guys would say it was too early. But with him and the University of Arkansas being in the top five in the nation every year, it’s kind of one of those things where, I don’t think you can say no. I’m excited for him. I think he will embrace that pressure that will be put on him.”
In 34 innings pitched at the varsity level, Jobe allowed 37 hits, walked 16 and struck out 29. He pitched six games over the summer with the Arkansas Sticks.
How critical was his play over the summer in his college recruiting?
“Very. Very,” he answered.
Schools such as Arkansas make offers to young players based, a lot of times, on potential. Jobe’s star is on the rise. He added more than 10 miles per hour on his fastball from the beginning of his freshman year until now.
“Last year, I went out to the field a lot with Coach. I was struggling. I couldn’t leave the field one day until I hit 75. And, I hit 87 last week,” he said. “We’ve been working and it’s just the beginning. We’re still working. We’re going to get there.
“Everybody stay tuned. We’re going to get there.”