Buckeye State Baseball

Malone assistant coach Dave Jones

Courtesy Malone Athletics  -Four athletes were recently selected to the 25th annual class of the Malone University Athletics Hall of Fame and will be officially inducted at a banquet on the University’s campus on January 29, 2010. The inductees will also be recognized at halftime of a Malone men’s basketball home game on Saturday, January 30.

The newest Hall of Fame inductees include Don Andres (’67, men’s basketball), Dave Jones (’89, baseball), Brian Kelly (’92, track & field) and Chris Reuscher (’97, men’s golf). With the addition of the four newest members, the current total of inductees now stands at 93.

Established in 1985, the Malone University Athletics Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have distinguished themselves in athletics while at the University. To qualify, athlete inductees must be graduates of Malone, must have graduated at least ten years prior to selection, must exemplify the highest ideals of intercollegiate athletics, and must have earned two letters in one or more sports. As a coach, they must have served the University athletics department ten or more years. In 2007, a new provision was established to allow athletics administrators or other support personnel to become eligible, again with a minimum of 10 years of athletics service to the University.

Dave Jones, a 1989 Malone graduate (Business Administration), was a four-year letterman in baseball for the Pioneers.  Jones was also a 1985 graduate of Union Local High School.

At Malone, Jones was an excellent defensive outfielder but was best known for his hitting prowess.  As a sophomore, he posted a team-best .371 batting average and went on to pocket averages of .331 as a junior and .363 as a senior, for a career batting average of .327.  As a senior, he was selected as a First Team All Mid-Ohio Conference recipient and as an All-NAIA District 22 Honorable Mention honoree.  In his four years at Malone, the Pioneers posted an overall record of 94-72-2 including a 30-16 season in Jones’ junior year.

Jones is currently entering his 10th season as an assistant baseball coach at Malone and he begins his 19th season as a coach at the collegiate level.  As hitting coach, his work with the current group of young Malone hitters resulted in the best one-year team batting average increase in school history (.345 in 2008).  In addition, he was on the Pioneer staffs that directed Malone to the 2006 NCCAA national championship and to the most wins in school history (47) last season. 

A Malone fixture, Jones was also a member of the coaching staff for Malone’s first football team in 1993.  After college, Jones continued playing competitive baseball, spending twelve seasons in the Canton Class “A” League and playing on nine championship teams in those 12 campaigns.  In 2006, he was inducted into the Stark County Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame.  In addition to his assistant coaching duties at Malone, Jones is employed as a sales representative for Castings USA, Inc.  He and his wife, Kelly, reside in Canton and they have three children, Shelby, Ty and Logan.