Sports Spotlight: Dickinson’s Jadon Bast

DICKINSON, N.D. (KFYR) - Jadon Bast plays baseball for the Dickinson Midgets but he does not go to a high school in the Queen City. Bast is already 30 credits into his college academic career and he has yet to step into a classroom.

Whether it’s batting, pitching, or playing the field, Bast is an integral part of Dickinson’s baseball team. The sport has always been special to him.

“Well, he offers a different dimension on the mound,” said Pete Dobitz, Dickinson’s head coach. “Sometimes it’s intimidation of all things. Kids know that he throws hard, coaches know that he throws hard. He’s a pretty well-rounded hitter also. On the offensive end with his bat, he can hit all sides of the field.”

“It means the world to me,” said Bast. “Ever since I was seven and I stepped on the field for the first time, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. I knew right then that I wanted to go to college someday to play baseball.”

It’s not just Bast’s capabilities on the field that sets him apart from the rest. He is the only one on his team who’s home-schooled.

“Being home-schooled, you have a lot more time,” said Bast. “I had a lot more time to focus on baseball. Home-schooling gives me an opportunity to work on baseball a lot more than maybe other kids.”

Bast is well aware of the stereotypes that come along with being home-schooled.

“People always say that if you’re home-schooled, you don’t have a social life, but that really hasn’t been true for me. I’ve always had a pretty good social life and have met a lot of people through baseball,” said Bast.

One of those friends is Landon Olson, who’s been his catcher since the early days.

“We’ve been best friends since we were nine because that’s when he first got on our team,” said Olson. “He was the first pick in Mustang like every year, it was unreal. When we got first pick, we got him right away and that’s when our friendship started to click.”

Bast’s future resides at the University of Augustana, where he will be continuing his academic and baseball career.

“I wanted a smaller campus but a solid baseball program to be a part of and Augustana just fit that well. I really think their program is going to bring out the best in me,” said Bast.

Augie has won four of the past five NSIC regular season titles.

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