Trio of adept infielders headline GamePrep Baseball Academy's new collegiate squad

And, wow, did he show it off Saturday at Sacred Heart Prep, taking a hit away from West Coast Kings catcher Matt Sugden.

Sugden hit a one-hop smash into the hole at short, but Jeremiah got a four-step head of steam toward his backhand to go into a three-point knee slide, using all the glove he could muster to nab the hot shot. He then popped to his feet and spun himself around clockwise, against the grain of his throwing arm, but landed with his feet perfectly square to first base to peg a rocket throw across the diamond to get Sugden by a step.

“That was amazing,” GamePrep Collegiate manager Kyle Barret said. “I think he’s the only guy on our team, maybe in this league, that can make that play.”

Not that Shaw, Jeremiah’s middle-infield counterpart, was surprised. He was abuzz about the dynamite play, just like everyone else who witnessed it, but not surprised.

“It was definitely impressive,” Shaw said. “He’s been making plays like that all summer, so he’s been impressing. … It’s a really tough play, he’s throwing across his body. But whatever he’s got to do, he’s got the arm to pull it off.”

This is the first year GamePrep has fielded a collegiate team, borrowing much of its roster from founder Anthony Granato’s alma mater Skyline College. Of the 25 players on the Trojans Collegiate roster, 15 would have played at Skyline in 2021, although all but Zagursky opted out as not to lose a year of athletic eligibility playing a shortened eight-game season.

“There’s a real need for them to play games … and we’re trying to provide them with premium competition so they’re not missing an entire year,” Granato said via telephone from Marietta, Georgia, where he his managing GamePrep’s 17U team at the World Wood Bat Association 17U National Championship.

Despite the Trojans Collegiate team’s 4-0 loss Saturday, the squad has posted a 12-4 record. It’s a glimpse of what the Skyline Trojans could have been in 2021, instead of the 1-7 record they posted after most of their regulars opted out.

“It was really weird,” Zahursky said. “We won our last game against West Valley, which was fun … we kept saying we ended on a win streak. … It was tough, but we had fun. We did our best.”

In 2020, prior to the cancelation of the season due to the coronavirus pandemic, Skyline was off to a 16-4 start.

“They would have been really good (in 2021), I think,” Barret said. “I think next year though they’ll be strong. They’re losing a few … but they’ll be strong.”

Zahursky, a Capuchino alum, has graduated from Skyline and is weighing his options for the 2022 season.

With the MLB First-Year Player Draft pushed back a month this year to July 11-13, many college players are in a holding pattern, waiting to see what four-year colleges will need in the way of baseball personnel after their top players turn pro. There’s also a nationwide clog of players due to 2020 not counting as a year of athletic eligibility, and so many players gaining another year by opting out of 2021.

“There’s no reason for me to rush into anything,” Zahursky said. “Everything is a mess. There’s like 2,000 guys in the transfer portal already, and that doesn’t even count all the college and high school guys.”

Shaw, a Serra alum, is looking to make his collegiate debut at Claremont McKenna College after the NCAA Division III program in Southern California did not play a season in 2021.

This summer, Shaw is sporting the No. 6, which, in a Trojans jersey, puts him in the company of Skyline royalty. It is the same number Granato sported in 2002 when he captured the California Community College Athletic Association batting title as a sophomore at Skyline. Barret also wore No. 6 when he played at Skyline.

Granato and Barret were also both middle infielders in college.

“Not only is the middle infield about having good athletes, but it’s also about building leadership,” Granato said. “There’s a lot of responsibility and skill that is required for those positions and we’re fortunate because we have a lot of talent all the way down.”

As for Jeremiah, he is fresh out of high school and poised to make his college debut at Skyline in 2022. And he promises to be a good one. He slashed .367/.469/.607 as a high school senior and grew into his wiry frame by hitting two home runs out of Aragon’s spacious left field, the only home runs of his four-year varsity career.

Jeremiah does hold a black belt in taekwondo, which he earned at age 15 before retiring his dobok to focus on baseball. His status as the youngest of the three infielders with Trojans Collegiate is familiar territory, as Jeremiah also is the youngest of three brothers. And he is the youngest by a lot. His oldest brother Pierson is 32, and middle brother Josh is 31.

“I think it kind of helped me because my older brother … he graduated when I was like 13,” Jeremiah said. “He kind of went through it all and he teaches me a lot.”

While Jeremiah obviously never had the opportunity to play Little League or high school ball with his brothers, he has joined them at various levels over the years, including filling in with several adult league baseball and slow-pitch softball teams. And, yes, he was always the kid on the roster.

Whether he be youngest brother, or the kid on GamePrep’s collegiate roster, Jeremiah welcomes the competitive camaraderie.

“Yeah, because you get the competition and you always want to be better than everyone else,” Jeremiah said. “So, it just kind of pushes you.”