COVINGTON – 2022 Covington graduate Jensen Wagoner, the son of Eric and Monica Wagoner, recently committed to continue his baseball career at Cedarville University with his family and coach Andy Johnson on hand to celebrate the opportunity Wagoner received to showcase his baseball talents at the collegiate level.

Covington has had some very talented baseball players over the years and Wagoner ranks up there with the best of the best in the program’s history.

“Jensen is one of the more polished players we have had here at Covington,” said Covington coach Andy Johnson. “He has all the tools and is the total package.”

As a senior, Wagoner had a .439 batting average and as a left-handed pitcher he recorded a 1.512 ERA with 66 strikeouts and allowing just 24 hits on the season. He also played travel ball, where he was coached by Jamie Baker and his hitting coach Charlie Miller.

Wagoner had several college programs show interest, but Cedarville got into the mix after Charlie Miller used his connections to attract attention from the Yellow Jackets’ coaching staff.

“My hitting coach (Charlie Miller) made some contacts and Cedarville came and watched me play in a tournament in Cincinnati,” Wagoner explained. “Everything kind of fell into place from there.”

After learning about the opportunities Cedarville presents, and the fact that it fit his major of Sports Business Management, Wagoner was sold on becoming a Yellow Jacket.

“Cedarvile is a good christian school, which is very important to me,” Wagoner said. “Plus, it’s a smaller school with a good baseball program and it is close to home. The facilities are great too.”

Cedarville has a new head coach, Matt Richter, which Wagoner hopes will open up an opportunity to contribute immediately to the success of the program.

“When I was recruited, I was the only left handed pitcher, so I think they can use me any way they want – as a starter or a relief pitcher,” Wagoner said. “My goal is to put in the work and contribute to the team right away. I want to help the program succeed.”

Jensen has always been a team-first guy who has went out of his way to help his teammates by passing on the knowledge of the game he received through playing nearly year around since he was a youngster.

“His knowledge of the game is at a different level,” Johnson said of Wagoner. “He gained a lot of experience by playing a lot of baseball and he did a great job of sharing his knowledge with his teammates, which made everyone better.”

Hard work is always rewarded and very few work on the game of baseball as hard as Jensen Wagoner.

And he credits those who have supported him over the years for his success, which led to the opportunity to become a Cedarville Yellow Jacket.

“I credit my parents, my family and definitely God for everything,” said Wagoner. “Jamie Baker, my travel ball coach, helped me a lot too. I’m so excited about getting started (at Cedarville) and can’t wait to see what they have planned for me. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

If history repeats itself, Wagoner will have a huge impact on Cedarville’s baseball program, which will also benefit Covington’s baseball program.

“Jensen is giving our program recognition,” said Johnson. “His success hopefully gives Covington kids confidence that if they put in the work they can accomplish the same things – they can be like Jensen Wagoner.”

Jensen Wagoner was a special player and individual at Covington – and he’ll likely be the same for Cedarville University.