From Simcoe to the NCAA, Jeryn Shortt is still chasing the game he fell in love with.

For a lot of kids growing up around Norfolk County, baseball starts as something simple. It is summer nights at the park. It is the smell of fresh cut grass. It is long tournament weekends, early morning starts, and the kind of friendships that seem to form almost instantly around a dugout.

For Jeryn Shortt, it started even earlier than that.

As he shared recently on the Hometown Sports Podcast with Adam Walker and Jacob Robinson, baseball was part of life almost from the beginning. His dad was always at the diamond helping with tournaments. The Blue Jays were always on. The ballpark was never far away. By the time Jeryn was old enough to dream, he already knew what the dream was.

He wanted to see how far baseball could take him.

Now, that journey has carried the Simcoe product to the University of Indianapolis, where he is pitching in NCAA Division II baseball and continuing a climb that has been built on local roots, local coaches, and a love for the game that has never really changed.

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That is part of what makes Shortt’s story stand out.

In an era where so many athletes feel pressure to leave home early, chase elite programs, and turn every season into a showcase, Shortt stayed local. He came through the Simcoe Giants program, played with his friends, helped build something meaningful at Simcoe Composite School, spent time at Lambton College, and now finds himself competing south of the border at a high level.

There is something real in that path. Something that will resonate with a lot of families in this area.

Shortt was open about why staying in Simcoe mattered.

He has seen players leave for bigger programs and lose some of what made the game fun in the first place. For him, staying close to home and playing with the same group of teammates year after year helped keep the game what it was supposed to be.

That matters more than people think.

It is one thing to train hard and chase opportunity. It is another to do it while protecting the joy that made you love the sport in the first place. Shortt managed to do both.

When he talked about the people who shaped him, the answers came quickly. Brian Old was one of the biggest. So was his dad, Jeff, who has become a familiar face to anyone who spends time around local diamonds and arenas. Shortt also pointed to his cousin Brendan, whose backyard competition pushed him when he was younger, and longtime teammates like Andrew Old and Aiden Littler, whose friendship became part of the whole experience.

That theme came up over and over again during the conversation. Baseball, for Shortt, has never just been about the box score.

It has been about brotherhood. Tournament trips. Hotel rooms. Fishing between games. Driving around with teammates after a tough weekend and still finding a way to laugh. He remembers championships, of course, but he also remembers the moments around them.

That is the stuff that stays with athletes long after a season ends.

Still, the wins mattered too.

Shortt has been part of OBA championship teams and spoke about the rush of finally getting over the hump after years of coming close. One of his favourite memories was winning with the Simcoe senior team in front of a strong local crowd. There was pride in that answer, and there should have been. For players who come through a small town system, winning at home always feels a little different.

It is personal.

His high school memories are just as meaningful. Shortt was part of the Simcoe Composite School Sabres team that captured a CWOSSA title and advanced to OFSAA, a major accomplishment for a local program that was still getting established. That run remains one of the best times of his life, and you could hear it in the way he talked about it.

That team was not built on flashy expectations. It was built on belief, timing, and a group that knew it had something.

That same mindset helped him take the next step to Lambton College.

The transition brought new challenges. Practices were more intense. The competition was better. He even had to spend some time adjusting to playing left field. But it was also the place where Shortt started to see that his baseball story might have another chapter.

A dominant complete game shutout against St. Clair, a powerhouse program, gave him that confirmation. It was not just that he pitched well. It was who he did it against and what it proved to him. For the first time, he could really see that this was not the end of the road.

Then came the call that changed everything.

After playing with the Wow Factor travel program in the summer, Shortt got word in early January that the University of Indianapolis was looking for pitching. The timeline moved fast. A few calls. A lot of conversations. A new opportunity. Before long, he was gone.

Not many players start the fall in the OCAA and end up in the NCAA by spring. Shortt did.

The adjustment has been real.

He described the biggest difference as the margin for error. At this level, pitches left over the plate do not get fouled off or missed very often. They get driven. Practices are daily. Lifts are structured. The workload is heavier. The standard is higher. Since arriving, a big focus has been on loading into his hips more effectively, sharpening his off speed pitches, and improving command.

It is a demanding schedule, too. Class, workouts, practice, travel, homework on the bus, homework in the hotel. The routine is full, and Shortt did not pretend otherwise.

But his goals are simple.

Win the conference. Win the World Series. Keep going.

For young athletes back home who want to follow a similar path, Shortt had two pieces of advice that stood out.

First, take school seriously. He was honest about the fact that grades nearly got in the way of this opportunity, and that message is one worth hearing. Second, for young pitchers especially, develop a strong arm care routine. Talent matters, but so does taking care of the body that has to carry it.

That is mature advice from a player still early in his journey.

And maybe that is the best part of Shortt’s story. He has reached a new level, but he still sounds like a kid from Simcoe who understands exactly where he came from. When asked about the best field he has ever pitched on, his answer was Memorial Park. When asked what he is looking forward to most when he gets home, it was simple. Seeing everybody again. Being back in Canada.

That is Norfolk County in a nutshell.

You can chase bigger dreams without forgetting home.

Jeryn Shortt is proving that right now.

Jeryn Shortt recently joined Adam Walker and Jacob Robinson on the Hometown Sports Podcast to talk about his baseball journey, his move to the University of Indianapolis, and the people who helped him get there. Watch the full episode below.

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