Jefferson’s Connor Van Scoyoc carrying on family tradition

CEDAR RAPIDS - For the Van Scoyoc family, baseball is a family affair.

Jim Van Scoyoc, grandfather of Spencer and Connor, is an Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Hall of Famer. He coached the Norway High School baseball team for 19 years and led them to nine state championships. Along with those championships, he won three state coach of the year awards and one national coach of the year award. You can see him being portrayed by Powers Boothe in the movie 'The Final Season,” which depicts Norway's last baseball season before merging with the Benton Community School District, although he didn't coach that season.

Aaron Van Scoyoc, Jim's son, played high school baseball under his dad at Norway High School. He was selected in the 38th round by the Baltimore Orioles right after high school, but decided to attend college and play at Arkansas-Fort Smith. After his time at Arkansas-Fort Smith, he was selected in the 21st round by New York Yankees. He spent three years in the Yankees organization, reaching the upper A level.

Now, they guide this generation of Van Scoyoc baseball players.

Aaron's son Spencer Van Scoyoc, who is a pitcher and an outfielder, graduated from Jefferson High School in 2016 and was drafted by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 19th round, but now is playing at Arizona State.

Last year, Spencer helped lead the J-Hawks to a 28-12 record and to the state baseball tournament for the first time since 1998. Spencer had a record of 4-2 on the mound, with 43 1/3 innings pitched. His earned run average was 1.45 and his opponents batting average was a .126. On offense, he had a .390 batting average, a .486 on base percentage and a .894 slugging percentage. He also was third in the state with 16 home runs, along that he had 41 runs batted in.

Connor Van Scoyoc, a pitcher, is a junior at Jefferson who recently committed to play baseball at ASU with his brother.

Connor finished last season with a 7-2 pitching record. He had a 1.40 ERA and his opponents had a .155 batting average against him. In 60 innings pitched, he had 58 strikeouts, 12 walks allowed and hit only eight batters.

Although his brother is at Arizona State, Connor decision was completely his own.

'There were some pros and cons to my brother being there,” Connor said. 'But out of all of my choices, I thought ASU was the best option for myself.”

Having his brother already at Arizona State, gave the program a competitive advantage.

'There were a lot of other schools recruiting me from the Power Five conferences,” Connor said. 'ASU stood out because of the school's great tradition, and also because of my brother.”

Spencer and Connor may be approximately 1,500 miles away, but they remain close.

'Spencer and I have a snap streak, so we talk every day,” Connor said. 'On the field we are just teammates, there is nothing special about being brothers. But I wouldn't be at the skill level to go to ASU if it weren't for Spencer.”

Spencer agrees, but adds that they argue a bit.

'My brother and I are very competitive with each other,” Spencer said. 'There are times where we don't get along, but most of the time we get along great because we are both interested in the same things.”

On the field, the two make each other better.

'I love it,” Spencer said, when asked about what he likes about being teammates with Connor. 'We push each other to be the best, and we know how to help each other when the other one is struggling.”

Connor agrees that their competitiveness makes them great teammates.

'I love being teammates with Spencer,” Connor said. 'We are both so competitive and are kind of some sore losers.”

Separated or together, the pair hope to keep following and growing the Van Scoyoc baseball legacy.