Son of Panther Valley grads selected in MLB draft

Summit Hill is just over 2,700 miles from Laguna Niguel, California, but the two towns share a common denominator with regard to a great storyline of how the love of baseball started here and ended up with the son of Panther Valley High School graduates being drafted in the seventh round of the Major League Baseball 2018 Draft.

That was when Jay Schuyler, a son of Brian and Maureen Schuyler, became the choice of the Cincinnati Reds.

“A few years ago, I had my son at the Summit Hill Little League field,” wrote Brian in an email to Times News staff member Bill O’Gurek, who, incidentally, coached the father back in the 1970s. “I told him all of his baseball talents were born on this humble field. Yesterday, he was picked in the seventh round of the draft by the Cincinnati Reds,” the message continued.

While Jay never stepped foot on the SHLL field, his father certainly did, having been a Summit Hill All Star as a youth, then playing baseball and basketball at Panther Valley.

“I guess you could say Summit Hill Little League formed and shaped my love for baseball, which I passed on to Jay,” Brian said. “The first time he saw the field in Summit Hill, he was maybe 10 years old. We watched a game there and I think his honest reaction was baseball, no matter where it is played, is still the same, and that kids had fun playing the game no matter where it was played, although the fields where he grew up playing were a lot more manicured and had lights. He was also quick to point out that he thought the kids he played with were better than the Summit Hill kids, to which I pointed out that he had a big advantage being able to play year round.”

Brian is a son of Jim Schuyler of Winter Park, Colorado, and the late Diane (Zimmerman) Schuyler. His wife is a daughter of the late Harry and Betty Hoffa of Coaldale. In addition to Jay, the couple has a daughter Hannah, 23, who graduated in 2017 from the University of Texas at Austin.

Brian and Maureen both graduated in 1979 from PVHS, after which time Brian attended the University of Southern California.

The couple eventually settled on the west coast, but his childhood days remain special to him, and he sentimentally credits that time as being among the best days of his life.

“Playing Little League in Summit Hill were absolutely some of the best times of my life,” he said. “I have so many memories. I will always remember playing for the St Gabe’s and having Tony George and then later you (O’Gurek) and Fuzzy O’Donnell coaching me.

“I vividly remember the spot in center field where there was no grass. I can remember that the uniforms being made out of wool and how hot they were in the summer. I loved the fact that once you were drafted by a team, you stayed on that team throughout your entire career. I couldn’t wait for the day every year we got our new hats and for the entire summer you would see all the kids in town wearing their Little League hats every single day in the summer.

“I remember when I was 11 on the all-star team and Tommy Evans hit a walk-off home run against West Hazleton and saying to myself, ‘This is the best feeling in the world.’”

Schuyler played on the Panthers’ baseball teams for three years, having been coached by Bobby Gelkatko, and was a member of the Panthers’ 1979 District 11 basketball championship team piloted by Phil “Pip” Rader.

After graduating from USC, he and Maureen purchased a home there and began raising their family, and, Brian noted, “We brought the kids home with us almost every summer while they were growing up.”

Like a lot of fathers do, Brian coached Jay throughout his Little League career, where opportunities were plentiful for a youngster who loves baseball, mainly due to climate and better facilities. “Our league has six fields, all under lights, so the kids have great opportunities.

“Jay’s love of baseball has been there since he was 5 years old. As he got older and we could see his talent developing, he began spending more and more time on the baseball field. Along the way, his commitment to baseball became paramount in his life. In order to reach his dream of being a professional baseball player he had to give up his summers of hanging out on the beach and surfing with his friends.”

Jay went on to a great high school career at Dana Hills, California. As a senior, his Connie Mack team won the Western United States Regional Championship and played in the Connie Mack World Series in Farmington, New Mexico, where Jay was named to the all tournament team.

Brian added, “Over the last five years, the Little League Jay played in has had five players drafted by the pros - Dane McFarland (Dbacks), Peter Maris (Rays), Luke Williams (Phillies), Grant Dyer (Phillies) and Jay. Just last week, a kid he played against in Little League from our rival Little League Laguna Hills, Shane Bieber, made his major league debut on the mound for the Cleveland Indians. So you can see the talent level out here is pretty amazing.”

Jay, however, earned his own mark. Dana Hills has over 3,000 students and, in his senior year, he was named MVP of both the football and baseball teams, as well as male athlete of the year.

In 2015, he was named All Orange County in baseball and All League in football. He moved on to the University of San Diego, where he earned All West Coast Conference (WCC) First Team honors, and to the WCC All-Academic Team.

Jay played football, and remains friendly with a number of outstanding athletes, including NY Jets quarterback Sam Darnold, Devon Modster, who will be UCLA’s starting QB this season, Rex Pflueger, who is the starting shooting guard on Notre Dame’s basketball team, and Patrick O’Brien, who is the QB at Nebraska.

The USD junior is a 6-1 catcher/outfielder who started all 55 games for the Toreros this past season and finished with a team-best .342 batting average. He also led the team in hits (75), runs (38) and total bases (108). Additionally, he chipped in 10 doubles, one triple, seven home runs and 38 RBI.

Jay will start his professional career with the Billings, Montana Mustangs in the Cincinnati Reds minor league organization. The Mustangs open their season on June 15.