Jeffrey Wehler Continuing Family Excellence in College Athletics

The Wehler family is filled with phenomenal athletes with great work ethics. Parents Tammy and Dale raised four collegiate athletes out of small town St. Marys, Pennsylvania. Dale, a former Penn State Behrend baseball player himself, helped guide his sons Andy and Eric to his alma mater to continue their careers. The couples daughter, Kirstie finished her last season as a volleyball player at the Rochester Institute of Technology, while the baby of the family Jeffrey just finished his sophomore season at Youngstown State where he plays baseball for the Penguins.While Jeffrey has always favored baseball over other sports, Jeffrey excelled in basketball, football, and golf during his high school days as well. In his lone season as a varsity football player, he was named all-state as a safety and led District 9 in interceptions. In basketball, he drew interest from Division III schools in the area because of his stellar play. In golf, Wehler won two varsity letters before deciding to play football in his senior year. While Wehler stacked up quite a resume in all four sports, there was little debate that his best sport was baseball.

In 2014, Wehler started as a freshman for Elk County Catholic and hit an incredible .437 which helped lead the Crusaders to the state championship game. He followed this up the next season hitting .415 for the Crusaders. However, this would be his last season as a Crusader as Wehler decided becoming a Flying Dutchman was best for his personal future success. In his first season as a Dutchman, Wehler hit .508 and began to rack up the accolades for his stellar play. During his high school baseball career, Wehler was named Dutchman offensive MVP, a Central Penn League All-Star, Tri-County/Courier Express First Team All-Star and Northern Allegheny League Large School All-Star. While these accolades speak for themselves, it does not demonstrate the full success of Jeffrey Wehler in the game of baseball.

During his travel baseball career, his outstanding ability in the field and at the plate drew attention from numerous Division I programs before signing to play at Youngstown State alongside fellow D9 alumni and former Dubois Beaver Nick Labrasca. The two have become great friends and hope to lead the Penguins baseball program in a great direction over the rest of their career. When asking Jeffrey what about Youngstown State impressed him most over other schools, Wehler said, “I wanted to be a part of a culture that could help turn a baseball program into a great tradition year after year. At Youngstown State, I had that opportunity. It was eye opening and daily, we continue to make strides to build up Penguin baseball.”

Wehler acknowledged his travel baseball and former varsity baseball coach Tony Azzato and one if his lifetime coaches Mike Beimel for the great amount of time and effort they invested in him to help him become the best baseball player he could be. “I had some great travel baseball coaches through the years that really pushed me to become the best ball player I could before heading to college. Their belief in me and their toughness on me helped me become very competitive. I also played in some great tournaments with a lot of talent which allowed me to get noticed by numerous schools. Travel baseball made me into a better competitor overall.”

In year number one as a college baseball player, Wehler played in 53 games as a shortstop, first baseman, and designated hitter for a young Penguins team. The St Marys product hit .241 with a pair of home runs. Wehler also knocked in 25 runs while scoring 24 more. Wehler also stole 25 bases and became just one of six Youngstown State baseball players to steal at least three bases in a game since 2000. He also ranked second in the Horizon League in stolen bases and fourth in the country among freshman in stolen bases. He also is the program record holder for stolen bases by a freshman and the first Penguin to reach 25 stolen bags in a season since 1988. After an impressive year number one, Wehler followed up his freshman season with an improved year number two. Wehler found a new home as an outfielder as a sophomore, playing 47 games in left-field and one in center. He batted .290 with six home runs, 27 RBI’s, 31 runs scored, and 30 stolen bases. He was named a 2nd Team All-Horizon League selection for the second year in a row. This time it was in left field. His 30 swiped bags put him in second all time for a single season in Penguins history. He also became the first player in program history to steal four bases in multiple games. Wehler has been named the top player to watch in the Horizon League this season and is listed as a top three Major League Baseball prospect coming out of the Horizon League in the year 2020.

When reflecting on his overall athletic career, Wehler misses the friday night lights at Dutch Country Stadium. In his lone season of football, he helped the Dutchman reach the district playoffs and compile a winning record. He also reflected on his three years as a varsity basketball player and playing in the Elk County Holiday Tournament. These memories will last a lifetime, but his career in baseball is surely just getting started. The early morning lifts and the late nights practicing the game he loves is surely worth it to Jeffrey Wehler. “The behind the scenes work is what many neglect to notice. It is truly a grind being in the position I currently am, but I would not want to have it any other way. Overall, I just hope people continue to think of me as a better person than an athlete. For a while I was judged on the colors I was wearing. I felt like people forgot the person I was and what I stood for.” 

With now three D9 baseball players on the Penguins team with the addition of Punxsutawney grad Brandon Matthews, many from the D9 community have an obligation to follow this baseball club that is on the rise. When we reflect on Jeffrey Wehler years from now, hopefully we can talk about him as a great program guy who helped mold Youngstown State baseball into a more competitive program overall. With many former District 9 stars getting drafted in recent years, will this former Dutchman be next?