University of Utah just got a baseball standout in Turlock High's Jon Temple after he signed his letter of intent to make it official on Tuesday afternoon.
Temple, who was heavily recruited by a plethora of Pac-12 and other big Division I universities, finally decided to attend the pride of Salt Lake City, Utah after visiting the campus and connecting with his peers in a unique way.
It quickly became evident for Temple that he had found his future home with the Utes, which have consistently showed an elite level of athleticism and academics year after year.
“They are in the Pac-12 and that was a big incentive to go,” said Temple.“I have known the coach for a while, he recruited me while he was at UCSB but once he transferred it was a pretty good fit and the coaching staff is great. When I went on my visit, the guys were awesome.”
“It's a great reward for Jon, who has worked hard and was recruited by a lot of people and finally chose the right place, I am really happy for him,” said Turlock head coach Mark de la Motte.
He also knows what it takes to win and was awarded the Most Valuable Player award this past year.
Temple joined the Bulldogs as a sophomore during the 2014 season and played 30 games with a senior heavy team that won league and went 13-2 in the Central California Conference.
He followed it with an 11-4 year in the CCC as a junior, which was only good enough for second but luckily he had one final go at league and as a senior, Temple and his teammates clinched the CCC title with another 13-2 record.
Temple was also second on the team with a batting average of .395 in 27 games.
His numbers have only increased as the years have gone on.
He batted .219 as a sophomore and hit .319 last year, only to up his average to .395.
This year also provided him with the ability to show off that power, hitting a season-high five home-runs and driving in a team-high 32.
“It's been a rough road, there have been ups and downs,” said Temple. “But it's the grind of baseball and also coach de la Motte always said that you have to get it done in the classroom as well before you come out and play ball, so it was always a mental and physical grind to get the job done.”
Temple got the job done in the classroom as well, amassing a grade-point-average of 3.5 while at Turlock High and credits his parents motivation as help towards working hard in the classroom.
Temple plans on joining the Business Administration program at Utah.
“That program at Utah is great. I got to check out the campus and the beautiful building and met some of the professors who are top notch, no matter where you are in the building,” said Temple. “It's a great atmosphere around there and I think I will be happy there.”
Temple is joining the top Pac-12 team, which after 24 contests, are sitting with a 15-9 conference record, competing in arguably the most complete collegiate conference in all facets, including athletics.
“Their program that is set is great right now. They are No. 1 in the Pac-12 and is successful and a great, fundamentally sound program and I told them I wanted to join it,” said Temple. “When I came back I was kind of eager to leave for summer ball already.”
“You just hope he gets a chance and hopefully continues to develop, that is a different level of baseball but they are getting a solid student and athlete and citizen for sure,” de la Motte added.
