Jackson Moon Is Excited And Ready For The NCAA

Jackson Moon will be playing NCAA baseball next season, and he’s over the moon excited for the opportunity.

“It really feels great, I have worked my whole life for an opportunity to play at the collegiate level, it’s very exciting knowing that the hard work has paid off,” said Moon of committing to play for NCAA Division II baseball for Trevecca Nazarene Univeristy.

“The goal has always been to play at the highest level, and have the opportunity to go in and make an impact right away.”

Moon had offers from five schools, but ultimately chose Trevecca, located in Nashville, Tennessee for a variety of reasons.

“I chose Trevecca over the 5 other schools as I know and have been to the school and campus numerous times. This gave TNU the advantage, with COVID, we could not go on visits to the other schools. Trevecca is also where my dad attended and played baseball as well, and it’s pretty cool being able to follow in his footsteps.”

The legacy and family ties of his father Dan Moon attending and playing for Trevecca gave the younger Moon a sense of comfort with the school.

“We know people around the campus and in the city and my goal was to get as far south as possible. Nashville is a really happening place and it’s an easy flight or drive to get home, it really checked all the boxes. At the end of the day it just felt like home.”

Moon, who is an alumni of the Chatham Diamonds and Windsor Selects also felt a good connection to head coach Chase Sain and pitching coach Jim Leggett, which impacted his decision to commit to the school.

“Coaches Sain and Leggett and I have built a good relationship and they put no pressure on me to make a decision, but had always been upfront about their level of interest, so I always felt like they were the type of Coaches I would like to play for.”

With a history of Canadian baseball players emerging from Southwestern Ontario, Moon felt his time spent in both Chatham and Windsor helped develop the skills he’ll need to succeed at the next level.

“Playing in a community like Chatham, we were always a small team. This gave me the chance to play and refine my skills.  I was kind of a late bloomer so I might not have gotten the same playing time in a larger community. Moving to Windsor to play allowed me to focus on pitching with a much more intense practice and game schedule, where we face the best of the best in Ontario, playing in the top league. Playing this competition presented me the toughest challenge but also helped me develop into a College level player.”

Now, it’s on to the next step of his journey at Trevecca, where Moon will study Criminal Justice with the goal of returning to join Chatham-Kent’s police force, and compete for playing time with the Trevecca Nazarene

“Trevecca is going to be losing 12-15 players next year so I will have the chance to earn some early playing time. I am hoping to continue to develop and grow as a pitcher as I have only been a full time pitcher for the last couple years. I hope to earn a spot in the starting rotation, but will be content with steady innings in any capacity to help the team be successful,” explained Moon.”

“Every kid has the dream of playing professionally and that would be great to get that chance, however I am just excited to get the experience to play at the NCAA level and also get my degree.”