Former Coyote ace continuing career

For The Madera Tribune

Jaydian Chavira.

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Coming out of Madera High School in 2023, Madera Coyote baseball ace Jaydian Chavira only had one offer from a four-year school to continue his baseball career. He was thinking his baseball career was over.

However, a last minute call from West Hills College in Coalinga has changed Chavira’s baseball trajectory.

“Coming out of high school, I thought I was going to be done,” he said. “My senior year was going to be my last year. Coalinga reached out at the last second. I was doing Babe Ruth announcing, and I was on the call with their coach at the time. I ended up committing before the Babe Ruth game finished.”

In the two years at West Hills College, he earned two All-Central Valley Conference honors, and was on the honor roll two years in a row.

“I had one offer out of Madera, and that was in South Dakota. I was horrified to leave Madera,” he said.

Now, Chavira will head to the Northwest. After finishing his West Hills College baseball career, Chavira will now play at Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls, Oregon. Oregon Institute of Technology is an NAIA school in the Cascade Collegiate Conference.

“It’s awesome. It’s an honor and a blessing. I’m super excited to keep playing and play for as long as I can,” he said.

Chavira had four or five other offers after West Hills, in addition to walk-on opportunities at Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Los Angeles, but decided to head north.

“They came to me through my head coach, Michael Cordero. Their head coach reached out to me. We talked for a few weeks before I decided to sign there,” Chavira said.

Going to West Hills was going to be a bit of a culture shock for Chavira. There’s only a few things to do there, and if you’re an athlete, it’s nothing but school and sports.

“There’s nothing to do out there,” he said. “I had the best GPA I’ve had in my life out there. It was definitely the best two years of baseball I’ve had. I’ve gotten a lot stronger. I’ve learned a lot about myself being so isolated. I was not alone, but by myself most of the time.”

Chavira was an All-CVC Honorable Mention his freshman year, and earned a 3.83 grade point average. He earned second team All-CVC his sophomore year, and wa named a team captain. He was also on the honor roll and was a resident assistant. He earned Player of the Week honors in conference, and was a West Hills College Player of the Month in both his freshman and sophomore years.

“Going to Coalinga, I knew I was going to a four-year college,” Chavira said. “I wasn’t going to go to Coalinga to just go. If I was going to do that, I would have gone to Fresno or Reedley. Going to Coalinga, I knew I was going to play and I was going to have a chance to develop. That’s what I wanted. I knew I wanted to go to a four-year school. I also knew I wanted to go outside of California, but not too far, so Oregon Tech worked out perfectly.”

After earning ace status as a senior for the Coyotes, Chavira was West Hills’ staff ace for both years. He carried a 4.20 ERA in his two-year career, and threw about 140 innings.

“I didn’t think I would be a college athlete, especially since I started so late,” he said. “My first practice was a week before the first game in my sophomore year, and I started that game. Going into it, I was playing to have fun. I thought senior year was going to be it. I had some success my senior year. Thankfully, Coalinga reached out. Now, it’s gong to where it’s at, and I’m happy to be here.”

Currently, Chavira is in Colorado, playing summer baseball for the Fort Oregon Wranglers.

“My host family is amazing,” he said. “It’s a bunch of fun. I don’t do anything but playing ball and golf. My golf game is not great, but I’m learning. My host family lives on a golf course, so we’re out there every night.”

Playing baseball runs in the Chavira family. His sister, Dallas, was the North Yosemite League Softball Player of the Year as a freshman this past season for Madera South. He tries to be there for her for any questions she has, but is also a role model for her.

“She tells me all the time how much she looks up to me and idolizes me. It’s so awesome to watch her grow and seeing her become the player she is and the young lady she is becoming,” Jaydian said. “I am there for her and will help here for whatever she needs. I help her out as much as she can. I’m proud of her and the stuff she has achieved. Being a Player of the Year as a freshman is pretty hard to do. She makes it look pretty easy.”

Chavira officially signed his National Letter of Intent during a family trip to Los Angeles while the family was driving to a museum.

“It was like a very heavy weight lifted off my shoulders to sign,” he said. “There were so many hours, time, work and effort that’s gone into to get two offers, and getting to play. It was a big sigh of relief. I’m happy to be here. It was a lot of prayer and a lot of work.

“It’s amazing to keep playing baseball. It’s awesome knowing I get another two years. My tuition is basically paid for. It’s six hours from home. It’s everything I wanted, and I couldn’t be more happy.”