2012 Male Player: Jeff Ott

Jeff Ott

Jeff has never been one that would seek the spotlight, but always wanted to be the one with the bat in his hands with the game on the line. He loves to win and hates to lose, which is expected from a person that plays the game with total passion. He always hopes to gain the respect of his teammates and his opponents through his total effort on the field.

With the countless accolades that Jeff has been awarded, his only regret is not playing an entire season with one of the super teams, but credits the USSSA program with allowing him to travel the country, meet great people, and play with some great teams. He states, “The friendships that I have gained through softball will last a lifetime.”

In his 24 years of softball participation, which began in 1986 with the Peoria based Hulick Electric team, Jeff has found state, NIT, and world tournament success with such teams as Bunca Car Wash (1990 Class A World Champions), Sunnyvale (2nd in Class AA World in 1998), and perhaps the best team that he had played for in Long Haul Trucking (1999 & 2000 Class AA World Champions & Runner-up at the Major World Series).

As a primary hot corner player (3rd base), Jeff captured many all-world selections and defensive MVP awards, while also receiving numerous NIT MVP awards at A & AA classifications.

It was evident during Jeff’s early years, that he would find success on the diamond, as he played baseball at East Waterloo High School before taking his talents to the University of Iowa, where he earned all-conference recognition his junior and senior years, before being drafted by the New York Yankees where he played 2 seasons, while reaching the AA level.

Looking back at his quarter of century participation, he wants to be remembered as the guy that always came to play by playing hard and was the clutch player that got that hit when it meant the most.  For the teams that played against Jeff over the years, they will testify that he has accomplished his goal.