GREEN RIVER — Green River High School graduate, Joe Schultz, signed his letter of intent to continue his baseball career at Dawson Community College in Glendive, Montana on Thursday afternoon.
Shultz comes from a family of baseball and softball players. From the tender age of four, Shultz recalls picking up a bat and hasn’t been able to put it down for the last 14 years.
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Currently Shultz is in the middle of finishing is fourth and final year as a member of the Green River Knights baseball team. Shultz joins his teammate Ramsay Taliaferro, who signed to play college baseball earlier this year, as one of three players under coach Ben Lial to play at the next level.
“Joe’s signing means the world to me but I think it means more to the Green River Knights program,” Lial said. “Joe is a leader for my team. When he goes, we go. This gets my team fired up to know that they could be the next one.”
Shultz currently serves as a pitcher for the Knights, however, he looks forward to moving back to his old position of shortstop which he will play at Dawson.
“I’ve had the blessing of playing many positions. I was mainly a shortstop before I moved here (Green River). I’m kind of glad to be back at shortstop again.”
Coach Lial mentioned that Shultz received four offers. With many choices on the table, Shultz ended up selecting Dawson Community College due to an offer to start at shortstop as a freshmen — an offer very rare in the sport of baseball.
“I went on a visit there and it was just a phenomenal school,” Shultz said. “I really loved the program and what the coach is trying to do. The offer that they made me as a starting freshmen at shortstop is just unheard of. Usually you don’t start until your sophomore or junior year.”
While the Green River baseball standout has his work cut out for him at Dawson, he looks forward to competing and working for a successful collegiate career.
“I’m really excited to see the competition I’ve got up there (Montana) and how far I can go with my career,” Shultz said.
“To be able to sign an everyday player out of Green River is a pretty cool deal,” Lial said. “Joe deserves everything that’s coming to him.”
