Northern Star: Jake Schelonka

CSS utilityman returning for 6th and final season.

DULUTH, Minn.- It was an off-season of uncertainty for St. Scholastica utilityman Jake Schelonka.

Will he or won’t he return for the Saints?

and the answer is…

“I really wanted to come back and have one more year and a chance to win a championship with this group of guys. I think there’s a really good group of core guys here and I think we have a lot of talent that I think we could surprise some people this year,” said Schelonka.

He’s not just a utilityman on the diamond as Schelonka is balancing PT school while also playing.

“It’s unbelievable. When we found out the news, we were celebrating because he’s one of the best players in the country. To have him back not only as a player, but as a leader and a guy that’s been through six years of college baseball is really invaluable to us,” said head coach Brooks Repking.

Schelonka has seen it all during his time as a Saint. That included the pandemic and a number of different head coaches.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way. Most college athletes probably aren’t going to go through all those coaching changes and what not. Especially with the core friends that I’ve made from it and just building a strong connection with my teammates and friends during baseball and outside of baseball. And those are connections you’re going to have forever,” added Schelonka.

Speaking of forever…

“We’ve had a really rich tradition with a lot of unbelievable players. But he’s going to be at the top of just about every record that we have here so I think he’s going to be remembered as not only one of the best players we’ve had but really one of the best leaders, best people we’ve had in our program,” added Repking.

The Saints open the regular season on Sunday against Simpson College.