Former Ashland University two-way baseball star
Jason Boland is an Ashland University Hall of Famer – 25 years after his last appearance as an Eagle.
"Definitely shocked," he said about being told he was getting into the Hall. "I've been away from campus for a quarter-century. Not something you ever think about. Simply came to Ashland to pursue a degree and play a little baseball and make life-long friends."
Boland will be part of the 50
th Ashland athletics Hall of Fame class, which officially will be inducted during the 2026 Ashland University Hall of Fame Induction and Student-Athlete of the Year recognition, Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. at the John C. Myers Convocation Center – prior to the Eagle football team's 102
nd Homecoming game at 1 p.m. vs. Tiffin at Jack Miller Stadium/Martinelli Field.
One of the top hitters in Eagle baseball history, as well as a top two-way performer, Boland is tied for second in program annals with 32 home runs, is third in games played with 223, and is tied for fourth in saves with 12. He helped Ashland make the NCAA Division II postseason three years in a row, including a College World Series appearance in 1999.
Boland showed his versatility by earning American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) second-team all-region honors twice and first-team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference laurels in 2001 as a shortstop, first-team All-GLIAC recognition in 2000 as a utility player, and 1998 honorable mention All-GLIAC as a third baseman. He was the 1998 GLIAC Freshman of the Year.
Coming from Newark, Ohio, to Ashland in the late 1990s, Boland said, "It felt like a long process, but real short. Had some offers from other schools. Had verbally committed to Indiana, and just wasn't sure if that was kind of where I wanted to be.
"It (Ashland) just seemed like a fit. It wasn't anything in particular, other than him (Ashland head coach
John Schaly) saying, 'I will give you every opportunity to not only be a pitcher, but play the field and hit.'"
Boland mentioned the challenge of being able to compete in college baseball as both a pitcher and a field player/hitter.
"I'm sure I would have had fun and enjoyed and just pitched at the D-I level," he said, "but it was the challenge of, I want to play the field at that primary position of shortstop, and I was a third baseman as a freshman and a little bit my senior year, and also being in the batter's box."
Playing in the early days of the Schaly era with the Eagles, Boland was a key part of the program's success to end one century and begin another.
"He brought pieces that allowed us to be successful," Boland recalled. "My last three years, I think each year, we set some different fielding percentage records.
"And then, we liked each other. To me, that's the biggest thing. You go out there and play for each other."
On playing for Schaly, Boland said, "Early on, I wasn't real sure. I talked with my parents this summer about him, and we were joking about, I can think of only one time he got thrown out of a game. Even as he got thrown out, it was this quiet demeanor, but you knew it was serious and he meant business. And that's what I loved about him.
"He expected you to come, put the time in, get after it and play to your potential, and he allowed us to do that."
Currently, Boland is an elementary assistant principal between two schools in Heath, Ohio – Garfield and Stevenson. He has three children –
Jaylynne,
Brooks and
Kenzie - with his wife,
Kate. Kate is a literacy coach at Garfield Elementary School.
As for his sales pitch to anyone looking at attending Ashland University, Boland said, "To me, what I loved about Ashland was the size. For the academic aspect of classrooms, I knew sitting in a giant auditorium of 100-some people at the D-I level was not going to be the best for me. So if you need that one-on-one attention, or 1-to-15 ratio class-wise, it's definitely your place.
"I was just floored on what the baseball stadium has become, and the movement and building of the softball complex next door. And I knew of the beautiful football facility, the indoor track area. And I've been to some other D-IIs on visits with my daughter, and they don't compare with what Ashland has become."
