By STEVE KRAH
http://www.IndianaRBI.com
Jonathan Miles Jr. marvels at where he is in the diamond world.
“Reflecting over my life and my baseball career if you would have asked me maybe five or six years ago that I’d be playing college baseball I couldn’t give you an answer,” says Miles, who saw his life change when he began to really dedicate himself to the sport at end of his prep days.
Miles, who turned 22 in April, is a 2020 graduate of Cardinal Ritter High School in Indianapolis. He was in the Raiders program for three years with one year on varsity in 2019 (the 2020 season was lost to the COVID-19 pandemic). He played on defense but a designated hitter was used in his place in the lineup.
“I was seen as an underdog,” says Miles. “I did not have any offers coming out of high school.”
After seeing how close Alex Vela (Ritter Class of 2017) thrived as part of Lance Hershberger’s original aka “The Dirty Dozen” team at Ivy Tech Northeast Community College in Fort Wayne, Ind., Raiders head coach Dave Scott reached out to the Titans staff.
“He expected more out of you,” says Miles of Scott. “He’s definitely one of the better coaches I’ve had when it comes to teaching about baseball and life.
Miles played catcher and first base at Ivy Tech Northeast in 2021 and 2022 — for head coaches Hershberger then Connor Wilkins (who moved up from assistant).
“Legendary” is the word Miles uses to describe Hershberger. “His coaching style is old-fashioned for sure. You don’t see a lot of it any more. There’s lots of small ball, bunting and stealing bases.
“A true definition of dirtbag. Stealing bases hard, playing through injuries. The tempo of the game was a lot faster.”
Miles sees Ivy Tech as his turning point.
“The mindset that I had at juco carried over from high school — get at least 1 percent better each day.”
Miles spent an hour or two everyday working on his hitting or fielding, often at The Diamond Baseball and Softball Academy in Fort Wayne.
He credits Wilkins for much of his development as a player.
“He helped my I.Q. behind he plate,” says Miles of Wilkins. “He gave me a better arm (and made be better at) blocking.”
While recruiting another player, Trennis Grant saw Miles and the coach invited him to be part of a first-year NAIA program at Dillard University in New Orleans.
Miles played mostly first base with a few contests behind the plate for the Bleu Devils in 2023, breaking his leg 22 games into the season. The righty swinger was hitting .306 (15-of-49) with two doubles, 11 runs batted in and three stolen bases.
He was studying Criminal Justice at Dillard since the school did not offer an Exercise Science major.
With two years of remaining college eligibility, Miles is now seeking other baseball opportunities.
“I’m betting on myself,” says Miles. “I want to play some kind of pro baseball someday.”
Miles notes that Dillard does not have resources like a 24-hour weight room and batting cages that he desires.
“I’m open to anything that will get me better,” says Miles. “It’s about finding the best place that has the right coaches to help me reach my full potential.”
This summer, Miles is with the 10-team South Florida Collegiate League’s Florida Pokers in Delray Beach.
His parents — mother Erin Whysong-Garner and step father Jason Garner — moved from Indiana to Fort Myers. Older sister Maxine Miles (Ritter Class of 2016) graduated from the University of Indianapolis in 2020. Younger brother Marcus Whysong-Garner, a basketball and baseball player, is heading into eighth grade in Florida.
Heading into college, Jonathan weighed about 185 pounds at 6-foot-1.
Once he got into college, he began strength training in earnest with motivation from teammates Grant Lashure (who played at Eastern Illinois University the past two seasons) and Grant Hershberger (who played at Oklahoma Wesleyan University in 2023).
“The weight room definitely helped a lot,” says Miles, who is now 6-1 and 205. “I did not take it serious in high school.”
Added strength has helped Miles throw harder and move better.
It’s also benefitted him mentally.
“If you put in the work in the weight room and do it consistently you will see your work pay off,” says Miles, who was born in Indianapolis and grew up in the Eagledale area near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Before Ritter, he attended school at what is now St. Michael-St. Gabriel.
He was at what is now Speedway Junior Baseball and Softball, Eagledale Little League and with the St. Michael middle school team and the traveling 17U and 18U Indiana Braves (coached by Joe Coughlan).
Of his time with the Braves, Miles says, “That’s the first time I got to show my talents on the field.”
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