Brock Jones grew up playing football and dreaming of someday playing in the NFL. He also played baseball but favored football and viewed it as his primary sport.
It wasn’t until high school that Jones started to think differently about his future occupation. He drew attention from professional scouts leading up to the 2019 MLB draft and realized baseball was likely his better sport.
That didn’t stop Jones from playing both sports in college, though. Jones was a member of the football and baseball teams as a freshman at Stanford University in 2019-20. Although he played in 11 football games on special teams, Jones decided to focus solely on baseball at Stanford after his freshman year.
It was the right decision, as Jones’ future is clearly on the diamond. A previous All-Valley Champion and USA Baseball Collegiate National Team Member, Jones is eligible for the 2022 draft — scouts project the outfielder as a potential first-round pick.
A Fresno, California native, Jones was born in June 2021 to a group of athletes — his dad Bryce Jones is known to have been a rower during his school while his mom Sevi Jones was a Volleyball player at Fresno Pacific. His granddad was likewise a competitor and played football at the school level in Oregon.
“There were moments when I thought I had to please this person or that person in high school. I now know I need to be myself and go play, and the rest will take care of itself.”
As a freshman, Jones hit .228 with one home run and four RBIs in 57 at-bats in 16 games in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
But sophomore year, Jones had a breakout campaign. He led the PAC-12 with 18 home runs, ranking 16th nationally. He batted .429 with two doubles, two home runs, and 8 RBI's at the College World Series. He went viral after taking a selfie with fans following their win over Arizona in game two.
"I'd say I'm a little bit extra in everything I do, so I don't mind the attention," he said. "That selfie was pretty cool. I wasn't really expecting it, they ended up tossing the phone down. I'm glad I was able to do that for them. Their high school even reached out to me and said thank you for taking a picture with the guys."
The former Fresno Buchanan Bear was named an All-PAC-12 first-team selection, and named a second team All-American for D1 Baseball and Baseball America.
Last season, Stanford posted a 39-17 record and advanced to the College World Series for the first time since 2008. The Cardinal haven’t won the national title since winning it in back-to-back years in 1987-88. They last played in the championship series in 2003, which marked their third runner-up finish in four years.
“I am here to lead this team to a national championship and get that for the coaching staff, team and myself,” Jones said. “That’s a personal goal of mine. We got there last year. But we have a lot still left in the tank and more to prove. I’m trying not to focus on the draft and be present where my feet are.”
“My biggest strength for me isn’t even a skillset. It’s a mindset for me. Having confidence in myself is probably one of my biggest strengths. Just being confident in times of struggle is important. It is a game of failure, and you are going to fail seven times out of 10 and still be one of the best in baseball.” — Brock Jones
“Jones is a 6-foot, 203-pound left-handed hitting outfielder who is a well-rounded player with five-tool potential. He uses a simple swing and quiet setup at the plate. He has solid strike zone recognition and consistently squares up the baseball to drive it to all parts of the field.”
“For me, I think if I do my thing, and my job throughout the team, then whatever accolades, whatever awards will just show up. I’m not really striving to get those awards, or any of those personal accolades and stuff like that. But I feel, as any player on any team should be, if you do what you should to help your team win, then those [accolades] will come with team success.” — Brock Jones
