Brandon Jasper

Steve Virgen

From Valley Christian High to Cypress and to Newport Harbor, Brandon

Jasper has been through many trials and challenges, to say the least.

It appears he has found a home with the Sailors, and the 6-foot-2

senior shortstop is out to make the most of his time with Newport

Harbor.

Throughout his high school career, Jasper has experienced a

painful setback, two transfers and a dismissal from the Cypress

baseball team, which all brought him that much closer to being a man

and a better baseball player.

“It made me more mature, opening up to different types of people,”

Jasper said of playing for three schools. “I’ve seen how different

people do things and how they react, how they associate. It made me

grow up as a person.”

Jasper encountered an extraordinary way to mature in his freshman

season at Valley Christian. After experiencing headaches and

wooziness, Jasper was diagnosed with spinal meningitis. There was

fluid in his spine heading toward his brain, mainly created from the

bacteria in the Santa Ana winds, his doctors told him.

“They had to take a six-inch needle into my spine and take fluid

out and they injected medicine to cure it,” Jasper said. “I was out

nearly a month because of it.”

Jasper returned just in time for Valley Christian’s run in the CIF

Southern Section Division V playoffs. He batted at the bottom of the

lineup. He said he enjoyed it since there was no pressure.

The Crusaders reached the final, and Jasper helped them win the

title. He delivered a 3-for-4 performance that came with three RBIs,

which was half of the team’s RBIs.

Jasper learned plenty from the entire ordeal.

“You don’t know when something like that is going to happen to

you,” he said. “So you should play every game like it is your last.”

Jasper played another season at Valley Christian and then

transferred to Cypress and played there for his junior year.

He was preparing for his senior season with the Centurions, while

also attempting to improve his status in regard to recruiting. Jasper

said he missed three scrimmage games with the Cypress baseball team

so that he could attend showcases with the Team One program, a

nationwide type of scouting service.

In November, Cypress Coach Dave Lewis told the player his top

priority wasn’t with the Centurions and Jasper was dismissed from the

team, Jasper said.

Jasper decided to move in with his older brother, Nicholas, and

his wife, Erin, who live in Newport Beach and transferred to Newport

Harbor.

Sailors Coach Joel Desguin practically welcomed Jasper with open

arms. Jasper, who plays shortstop and also pitches out of the bullpen

in a closing role for Newport, came to Desguin just before the spring

semester and asked, “Can I play on the team?”

Jasper has been respectful and hard-working ever since entering

the program, Desguin said.

“He came out and he has fit right in with the guys,” Desguin said.

“He’s very coachable. His hitting has obviously been a big help for

the team.

“The other day I was getting the field ready, and he just helped

me line the field. I thought it was neat that he helped out and he

did the extra things just to help out.”

Desguin knew Jasper would be a valuable asset from the start.

Jasper smacked a home run on his first at-bat for the Sailors.

“He welcomed me to the team after that one,” Jasper joked.

Jasper hammered a home run in each of his first three games with

the Sailors. Last week, Jasper went 2 for 3 in each of Newport’s

victories over Magnolia (March 11) and Ocean View (March 9) in the

Newport Elks tournament.

The Daily Pilot Athlete of the Week also helped lead the Sailors

to an 11-4 victory over Back Bay rival Corona del Mar Tuesday. He

went 2 for 3 with two runs and an RBI. Through Newport’s six

nonleague games, Jasper batted .450.

Jasper said he plans to play on the next level, most likely at a

community college, with the intent of transferring to a four-year

university or getting drafted by a professional team.