FORTVILLE — The biggest difference from Jake Stadler’s sophomore and junior baseball seasons can be summed up in one word.
Health.
A lot materialized after a healthy 2019. The junior catcher had an All-Hancock County and All-Hoosier Heritage Conference season behind the plate — and at the plate, too — for the Mt. Vernon Marauders.
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To add to his post-season accolades, shortly after the high school season ended, Stadler verbally committed to play in the Big 10 at Purdue University.
“Not only because it was a Big 10 school, it’s like a family at Purdue,” Stadler said. “It’s not far from home so family and my parents can watch me and that was a big deal for me.”
“He is a really good athlete and defensive player with great hands and knows the game very well,” Stadler’s high school coach, Ryan Carr, said. “Plus, he’s a left-handed hitter. As a catcher with his numbers and pop time, that’s like the Holy Grail.”
Stadler had a bit of concern prior to his choice of picking West Lafayette as the next stop on his academic and athletic path.
At the end of the college baseball season, the Boilermakers had a coaching change. Mark Wasikowski left to become head coach at the University of Oregon, where he was an assistant prior to getting his first head coaching job at Purdue.
“I didn’t know what to think,” Stadler said. “I didn’t know if they were going to still recruit me or if they still wanted me.”
They did.
The Boilers quickly promoted assistant coach Greg Goff, who had previous Division I head coaching experience at Campbell, Louisiana Tech and Alabama.
It was a relief to Stadler. The offer was still there.
“When the coaching change happened, I was hesitant,” he said. “When I heard coach Goff was taking over, I think I was even more excited and it solidified my thoughts (of going to Purdue). He reassured me and I was comfortable again.”
Comfort was something Stadler hadn’t had in a while.
A stress fracture in his back made for a miserable sophomore season with the Marauders. He didn’t get to catch and he had to play with a back brace. When he was in the lineup, he played first base. The injury got to be too much and he shut it down before the season was completed.
He had just 32 plate appearances and 24 at-bats. He struck out 10 times and hit just .208.
“Last year was depressing. It was hard to play through,” he said. “I was struggling.”
He was determined to get healthy, and it started happening the following summer.
“I worked, worked and worked and got healthy,” Stadler said. “My arm got stronger and I got stronger. I saw the results and I wanted to keep working.”
It paid off and showed on the field with the Marauders.
Stadler led the team in doubles (six), OPS (1.074) and slugging percentage (.596). His .365 batting average was second best on the team.
His arm strength was showing in his pop time (the time when the ball hits the catcher’s glove to the moment it hits the glove of the infielder at second base), too. His time of 1.82-1.89 seconds led everyone at last month’s Indiana’s Prep Baseball Report Top Prospect Games.
The Marauder senior-to-be knew an exceptional pop time gets interest from colleges, but he believes his overall body of work, especially this past season and this summer with the Indiana Bulls, is what kept the interest high from the Boilermakers and other suitors.
“(Pop time) is a key factor, but I pride myself on defense, receiving the ball and blocking the ball,” Stadler said. “I’m going to block it. Blocking and receiving are the most important things to me.”
Along with what he has done on the field, Stadler said the Boilers liked his leadership qualities, too.
That’s a trait that Carr can attest to.
“The kids naturally gravitate to him,” Carr said. “They see how he is focused and how he plays the game the right way. People follow his lead.
“He’s a good kid from a good family. Just the way he is, gets respect from his teammates.”
Stadler called his junior season at Mt. Vernon “a breakout year,” but he wants more in wrapping up his high school career in 2020.
He has built off his strong 2019 season with the Marauders and is having a good year for the Bulls 17U White team this summer. The final campaign with his school friends is one he hopes sends him off to Purdue on a high note.
“I’d like to make it out of the first round of the sectional and win a championship at Mt. Vernon,” Stadler said.
