DeMers Born To Be Top Dawg On The Mound
October 06, 2015 | Baseball
By Brian Tom
UW Athletic Communications
For as long as Husky freshman Joe DeMers can remember, he has always loved baseball. And for as long as anyone who has ever seen DeMers play baseball can remember, the right-handed pitcher from Martinez, Calif. has always stood out in the sport, both literally and figuratively.
In tee ball, DeMers was twice the size of every other kid. He would hit balls that would get lost in the tall grass beyond the playing field. He began playing travel ball when he was eight years old on a 10-and-under team from Pleasant Hill. At the age of 14, he was the youngest member on Team USA's 16-and-under squad that won gold in Mexico. As a 16- and 17-year-old, he won gold in Taiwan (2013) and Mexico (2014) on Team USA's 18-under squad.
“I have always been ahead of the game,” the baseball prodigy DeMers said. “I just kept growing and trying to get better each year and stay ahead. That was my goal, to just be ahead of the game and not be one of those guys that lets people catch up.
“So far it has worked out.”
At each level and with each challenge, DeMers has excelled. He has so many individual highlights and recognitions that he could arguably be the most decorated high school player to ever play baseball at Washington. But for Husky Coach Lindsay Meggs, the appeal of DeMers is so much more than his accomplishments.
“What really makes Joe so special goes way beyond his stuff,” Meggs said last November on signing day. “Joe is a great teammate, and Joe is a great competitor. Whether Joe is on the mound that day or simply waiting for his turn to pitch, Joe is on the top step of the dugout pulling for his teammates.
“Every pitching staff that gets to Omaha has a Joe DeMers leading the way.”
Besides three gold medals at the national team level, DeMers' résumé includes winning the 2015 California Gatorade State Player of the Year and 2015 Perfect Game First Team All-America honors. As a senior, he was 13-1 with five shutouts and a 0.51 ERA, while striking out 103 and walking 10 in 96 innings. For good measure, he also hit .447 with 6 home runs and 44 runs batted in. To cap his high school career, DeMers struck out 10 batters in helping his high school College Park beat top-seeded De La Salle, 5-2, in the North Coast Section Division I baseball championship game.
He finished high school with 44 wins in 314 innings pitched, 332 strikeouts and a 0.76 ERA over a four-year career.
Through all the accolades and successes against some of the top talents in his age groups, DeMers always tries to stay grounded. He has leaned on his parents, Tom and Lisa DeMers, to provide guidance.
“My mom and dad have been teaching me to be humble my whole life,” he said. “I have never even thought about thinking I'm better than anyone because that is when you slip up. Staying humble keeps me hungry and keeps me getting better every day.
“Playing against and with the best players in the country only makes you step your game up that much more,” DeMers added. “It helped me tremendously in knowing what I have to do and how hard I have to work to keep getting better. I know I can't take any days off because those guys are out to take your job.”
DeMers' hard work and skills made him one of the top high school players in the country. He was both one of the nation's top-ranked college recruits and top Major League draft prospects in 2015. Before the draft began last June, he told MLB scouts his signing number and reiterated that he wanted to honor his commitment to attend college at Washington.
“I think they knew I wanted to come to UW just because of how strict I was on not going below my number,” DeMers, who was projected to go in the early rounds of the draft, said. “I think a lot of scouts respected me for that; just showing that I believe college is the right way to go.”
While DeMers dreams of one day hearing his named called on the first day of the draft, ultimately, he will now get a chance to live out another one of his dreams. Equaling his early love for baseball, DeMers has showed a passion for the Washington Huskies since a very young age. His mom, Lisa, was a graduate of Washington and instilled her love for the Huskies in Joe.
“I have been a Husky fan my whole life,” DeMers said. “I have a picture from when I was a little kid wearing a Husky football shirt.”
Add in top-notch facilities and coaches, and Washington was the only logical university for DeMers to attend once it came time to pick a college.
“Best in the country, I would say,” he said about the UW facilities and coaches. “Any place that has facilities like this, you know you can get better every day. Coach Meggs is great at developing his players. They had eight guys drafted two years ago, which just shows he gets everyone ready to play Major League Baseball.
“I want to be the best player I can be,” DeMers continued. “I know that working with (Strength and Conditioning Coach Dave) Rak and (pitching) coach (Jason) Kelly, the sky is the limit for me right now. I am soaking everything in and working hard. I am looking to get better every day.”
DeMers is also fitting in well with the team. Amongst the Huskies, he is just one of the guys after standing out for so long.
“It is a great team and a great family. Everyone is really nice, really humble,” he said.
“I like how everyone is just hungry to get better and I think we are going to have a great year.”
If DeMers continues the upward trajectory that his baseball career has followed so far in his life, it will indeed be a great year for the Huskies.
