SALISBURY — Ryan Jones’ high school career was a progression from raw athlete to skilled player.
A four-year varsity baseball performer for the Salisbury Hornets, Jones’ batting averages made the steady climb from .167 to .222 to .296 to .381 as a senior.
Jones scored 32 runs and drove in 18 as a senior. A center fielder and pitcher, he signed with Belmont Abbey at a punch-and-cake party held recently in the school auditorium.
“Ryan got better every year,” former Salisbury coach Scott Maddox said. “He grew from a guy who was trying to learn to play the outfield on the fly to a guy who was running down everything that was hit in the gaps against us. He was one of the best outfielders I ever coached.”
Jones, who made the All-Central Carolina Conference team three times, has a strong right arm and also won 10 games on the mound for the Hornets in his prep career. He was 4-2 with a save as a senior.
“He really came on as a senior as far as his pitching,” Maddox said. “We’ve always needed his hitting first, his outfield defense second, and his pitching third, so he didn’t get as many innings on the mound as he might have. But he came through under pressure this year. He came through in tough situations that he might not have handled as well early in his career.”
Jones passes the eye test. At 6-foot-2, 180 pounds, he looks like a wide receiver/center fielder is supposed to look, and those are the roles he played for Salisbury athletic teams.
He has exceptional speed. Times under 7 seconds flat in the 60-yard dash are considered fast in baseball, and Jones ran a 6.67 on his best day and was clocked several times in the 6.7- and 6.8-second range.
Jones made a school-record 66 catches for Salisbury football the past two seasons, which offers some idea of the kind of athletic ability he possesses.
Belmont Abbey first noticed Jones when he was enjoying spectacular success in the F&M Bank High School Baseball Classic. Jones had nine hits as Salisbury won the event with a 3-0 record. Jones was 4-for-4 in Salisbury’s romp against Robinson in the championship game, and Jones also was the winning pitcher.
Jones was named the NCHSAA’s statewide performer of the week for that effort.
“Belmont Abbey didn’t get to see me pitch in that tournament, but they saw see me hit and play outfield,” Jones said. “They contacted me for the first time about 10 days after that tournament, and it was great to know a school that wanted me. But I didn’t sign right away. I wanted to see what else might happen, but Belmont Abbey was always in the back of my mind.”
Jones said assistant Todd Miller recruited him. The head coach of Belmont Abbey is Chris Anderson, former Catawba assistant and former pitching coach for the South Rowan American Legion team.
Jones is a cousin of former South Rowan standout and Belmont Abbey outfielder Patrick Atwell. Atwell started on the Belmont Abbey team that went to the Division II World Series in 2009.
“I’ve seen the ring Patrick has and it’s pretty nice,” Jones said.
Another of Maddox’s Hornets, Forrest Buchanan, recently played baseball and earned a degree from Belmont Abbey.
Jones is competing this summer (along with East Rowan graduate Harrison Bell) on the Carolina Rockies showcase team. The Rockies play in tournaments, often in college stadiums.
Whether Jones winds up as an outfielder or pitcher at Belmont Abbey — or both — is something only time will tell.
“I’m going into it open-minded, and I’m looking forward to the challenge of college baseball,” Jones said. “It’s not far away and my parents (Johnny and Karen) can come watch me play. That was a big part of my decision.”