Jake Hunter was the Most Valuable Player in the Class 1A state finals a few months ago. (NCHSAA photo)
ASHEBORO – When Jake Hunter was named the Most Valuable Player of the state championship baseball series in the spring, it turns out he was just getting warmed up.
The Uwharrie Charter Academy pitcher had a summer filled with travel baseball and has been assessing some of the college recruiting interest that has been directed his way.
“I kind of set my focus on travel ball and doing what I need to do to play college baseball,” Hunter said.
Yet he is only halfway through his high school career.
In each of his first two seasons, he logged complete games in the opening game of the Class 1A state finals. He struck out 11 batters in the eight-inning matchup with Northside-Pinetown the season.
“That was as dominant as I was all year,” Hunter said. “Since I’d been there before, I kind of knew what to expect.”
Hunter and rising senior Brett Smith have been a strong combination on the UCA mound.
“The depth that we have, we’re just blessed that all of our pitching is coming back next year,” coach Rob Shore said.
Hunter has been a consistent starter since his first season, giving the Eagles a luxury.
Now he has picked up the MVP label.
“The MVP definitely helped my stock a little bit,” Hunter said.
The weekend after UCA captured its second consecutive state crown, Hunter was in a travel ball event. In the following weeks, he put in more work during travel ball with 5 Star National. That took him to tournaments in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.
“I pitched against some of the best competition,” the right-hander said.
Hunter, at 6-foot-2 and about 160 pounds, routinely had fastballs clocked in the 85-86 mph range, sometimes a tick or two higher. That’s not his main emphasis.
“My best attribute is knowing where the ball is going,” he said.
Hunter played shortstop when he wasn’t pitching for much of the past two UCA seasons. He sticks to pitching for 5 Star National.
“If I go anywhere (to play collegiately), it’s going to be pitching,” he said.
The 2024 season wasn’t totally smooth. In a mid-March game at Central Davidson, Hunter was on third base when he tagged up on a fly ball and headed toward the plate. He dodged the catcher and scored, but suffered a hyperextended right knee in the process.
That cost him a couple of weeks of playing time as he recovered.
“It was pretty tough,” he said. “But I kind of knew I wasn’t going to be gone for long.”
By the postseason, he was rolling, pitching for the Eagles in the first and third rounds of the state playoffs before throwing a shutout against Mount Airy in Game 1 of the regional finals.
Hunter, 17, reclassified during eighth grade and that delayed his entry to high school. He said he hopes that translates into being a sought-after talent in the Class of 2026.
He’s embracing chances to attend college camps, taking part in a North Carolina event last weekend in Chapel Hill.
He said he has a full travel ball schedule again this fall in addition to playing in the high school fall league at McCrary Park in Asheboro.
“It’s a nonstop thing,” he said.
