Joshua Jones is college-bond

  CNMI baseball standout Joshua Jones signed an official Junior College Athletic Association letter of intent to attend Colby Community College located in Colby, Kansas last week.

At the same time he also signed a scholarship agreement form to be honored this upcoming 2012 fall and 2013 spring semesters.

“I am looking forward to college and am excited to get my collegiate baseball career going. I plan to take full advantage of this great opportunity and represent the CNMI well,” assured Jones in an interview after last week’s MISO basketball game against Grace Christian Academy.

Jones should be ready and suited up to play in the 2013 spring season.

He is still weighing his options with regards to his major field of study.

The Kagman High School senior has displayed an impressive body of work back in his Little League days and other various sports.

Jones led the CNMI national team to a gold medal in the 2010 Micronesian Games held in Palau. He was also recently selected as the Northern Marianas Amateur Sports Association’s male athlete of the year after leading the CNMI national team to another gold medal showing in the 2011 Pacific Games held over in New Caledonia this past August.

Jones stepped to the mound in the third inning of the Pacific Games finals and contained rival Guam, 8-4, on the big stage. In the tournament, he tallied 42 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings pitched for a minuscule earned run average of 0.111.

Other highlights include being recognized by Baseball Confederation of Oceania Talent Officer Ray Brown for already having a “Major League” curve ball back in late 2010.

To no surprise Jones’ individual Little League statistics were remarkable, maybe the best ever as a pitcher. In fact his pitching numbers are so good that people often undermine his talent at the plate. He has also built quite a reputation of being a soft-spoken leader by both his peers and coaches, proving on multiple occasions that pressure does not faze him on the mound.

Although Jones put his Little League cleats on the shelf last season, he is now looking forward to continuing his baseball career on the collegiate level next spring.

In addition, Jones is also a talented volleyball and basketball player. He led KHS Ayuyus to a MISO volleyball title this season, and the defending champion Ayuyus (4-1) are right in the mix as the MISO basketball season is nearing its postseason tournament.

There were a couple of schools that showed interest in Jones since 2010, including Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa; however, Colby by far showed its persistence in coming to terms with the young prospect.

Colby was established in 1964 and has recently bannered seven Major League Baseball players and one Frontier League pro from 1999-2009.

Fourteenth year skipper Ryan Carter coaches the Colby Trojans (328W-324L).

Carter is the Trojans longest tenured coach and boasts the most wins for the school.

Assistant coaches Sean Lydon and Jerry Hildreth will also lead the team.

Lydon is the a former ace pitcher for the Trojans who is entering his second year as a coach, while Hildreth will instruct the group for the first time this 2012 season.

After finishing just above a 0.500 winning percentage back in 2010 (30-27), the Colby Trojans improved to a stout record of 42 wins and 20 losses last season.

The group boasted a 19-4 home record in 2011 and finished 23-10 in conference play.