Campus Newcomer: Mount Ayr INF Jaixen Frost
The Iowa Baseball campus newcomers series continues on with a look at the freshman class. This time it is infielder from far southern Iowa. Out of Mount Ayr High School, just 20 miles from the Missouri border, Jaixen Frost is rated as the #1 shortstop in the state and the #108 shortstop in the country by Perfect Game. Frost was a three-time 1A All-State selection for the Raiders and was named Pride of Iowa Conference Player of the Year for football, baseball and basketball as a junior. Now, Jaixen makes the move to Iowa City, where he will join the Hawkeyes for his freshman season.
We caught up with the 6-foot-1, 185 pound infielder to discuss his move to Iowa and preview his upcoming freshman year at Iowa.
Q: When do you move to Iowa City and what is your excitement level like for that move in day?
FROST: My move in day is August 12th and I can’t wait to get started and get going. Couldn’t be more excited to get going.
Q: What number do you plan on wearing and why?
FROST: If I get the choice of a number I would like number 27. This number means a lot, as it’s the birthday of my sister who passed away at a young age, so I’ve always worn the number and plan on wearing the number if the opportunity is there.
Q: How would you evaluate the way you played during your senior season?
FROST: Senior year I thought was good. I feel like I played well and my team played well, especially with the cards that we were dealt not having seniors go out and no juniors so I feel like we did well with what we were given.
Q: What have you been doing since the high school season to prepare for when you join the team?
FROST: To prepare, I’ve actually started training with some of the baseball players already such as Ben Swails, Blake Guerin and some others and they are just showing me little things here and there to get ready for the season and what to expect.
Q: Looking back at your recruitment, what stood out about the Iowa Baseball program that made them an easy choice over other schools?
FROST: I grew up a Hawkeye fan and it has always been my dream to play D1 baseball and for the Hawkeyes, so when the opportunity was put in front of me, there was no hesitation to take it.
Q: Were there any other teams that you considered during your recruitment?
FROST: Being from a small school, my recruitment was very little. Not a lot of D1 schools coming and knocking on my door, but quite a few D2 schools. Kirkwood was a choice for me along with Iowa Central, but Iowa started talking to me around my Sophomore year, so I was just kinda waiting and hoping that they would give me a offer and fortunately for me they did.
Q: What is your relationship like with the coaching staff? Who do you talk with the most?
FROST: Coaching staff is amazing I get along with everyone there. They are very easy guys to talk and I could talk to them for hours about anything.
Q: What is your relationship like with the other incoming freshman? Current players?
FROST: What’s nice about coming in with my freshman class is that I know about every one of them. I’ve either played against or with them at some point and time and we have created a friendship beforehand and now coming to Iowa together makes it even better.
Q: If someone asked you “what do you bring to the Iowa team?” How would you describe your game?
FROST: I would like to say I’m an all around player not just a good bat or good glove. I would like to say that I can do and play what’s asked of me when being brought to the Iowa team.
Q: What are your goals for your freshman season at Iowa? What areas of your game do you want to improve?
FROST: My goals for my freshman year is to take notes from the upperclassmen and learn from them to help myself become a better baseball player for the future. For me, I always think there’s room for improvement in all areas of my game.
