Jay Schueler who was a part of the 2024 Okotoks Dawgs has left for Dunedin to play for the Toronto Blue Jays in the Florida State League after inking a deal with the MLB club.
Schueler signed his deal on July 16th and hopped on the plane to Florida days after. Schueler hasn't been able to compete in a game for the Dawgs after he suffered a broken nose a week into his visit with the Dawgs during batting practice.
He was excited to play for the Okotoks but now is ecstatic that he's going to Dunedin and will rub shoulders with Canadian baseball legend Joey Votto.
"It's a blessing, I have been working my whole life for this. When I got that call when we were in Sylvan Lake, it just kind of hit me by surprise because I wasn't expecting anything after the draft concluded and then it hit me," Schueler said.
Schueler is a strikeout master, having posted 34 Ks in 24 innings with the Southeastern University in the NAIA during the 2023 season.
"I just like to play team ball, let my defence work behind me and obviously go for a strikeout. Have a bulldog mentality and just do what I can to get the win for my team," he said.
He would go on to talk about how much fun he had this summer with the Dawgs in Okotoks.
"It's been the best time I have ever had in the summer, I mean the Dawgs is a great team and take care of the all guys like family. As soon as I came in I clicked immediately, it was just a bunch of NAIA guys and we just kind of bonded really fast. That's what I really like about summer ball," Schueler added.
Schueler is a social butterfly as he's always joking around and picking up teammates' spirits in the dugout and bullpen.
"I get this from my grandmother, I'm a talker. I just try to be as open and as friendly as I possibly can for everyone, and have positivity. I don't like having negativity around the bullpen or in the dugout because if you are negative it's infectious.
This was the first time he had ever left his home country of the U.S.A. and has enjoyed what Canada has to offer, even after breaking his nose.
"Well, I can say I broke my first bone here in Canada. So, that's going to be a memory I will always have. It's an amazing country and I will definitely come back here," he said.
Luckily, Schueler healed up pretty quickly.
"I took a week off, the first few days it was extremely tender, and everything was just swollen. I just had a lot of rest, thankfully I didn't need any pain meds. Thankfully I had a good billet family to take care of me and just everything went smoothly," Schueler mentioned.
Schueler was in talks with the Blue Jays throughout the year and at the end of the MLB draft things were finalized to have him join the Blue Jays organization.
"Talks kind of happened in the middle of the year. After I played my cousin Noah in a game at my school in Southeastern Florida and I was just talking with them and stayed in touch with them throughout most of the year. It kind of did come as a surprise, obviously, it's going to be a surprise no matter what because you never know when you are going to get that call," he said.
He describes what drove him to play baseball and what he loves about the game.
"Just the comradery of it, just being around a bunch of guys with the same goal just to win ball games, and at the end of the day just have fun with everything," Schueler said.
"The love of baseball came with my dad and grandfather. They both worked with me really hard when I was young. Like obviously every baseball player who is here with the Dawgs Baseball Academy and just kids anywhere in the world they usually start baseball at three years old. Ever since then, I have worked my tail off to get to where I am now."
Scheuler has a message for any kids that want to follow their dreams.
"Just keep working hard and dreams come true," he said.