The Chicago White Sox have signed Salmon Arm’s Riley Jepson to a minor league contract and has been assigned to their High-A affiliate, the Winston-Salem Dash.
The Dash, based in North Carolina, are part of Minor League Baseball’s South Atlantic League.
Jepson played his first game with the Dash on Aug. 25 and another on the 26th. He had been playing as an independent with the Great Falls Voyagers in the Pioneer Baseball League. In the 2020-21 season he was considered one of the top hitters playing for the University of Texas (UT) at Tyler, and was named UT Tyler’s Co-Male Athlete of the Year.
The Okanagan native played in 66 games for the Voyagers and finished with a .407 batting average, 12 home runs, 55 RBI, and 80 runs scored. He has totaled 33 extra base hits and has added in 20 stolen bases and 61 walks.
UT Tyler head coach Brent Porche said Jepson has been, “working extremely hard for the last several years to put himself in a position to get this opportunity. Nobody deserves it more! The dude just flat-out hits! I’m excited to continue to follow his journey in professional baseball.”
Jepson is happy to be playing for the Dash, another step up the ladder in his career.
“The goal is to play as high level as possible,” said Jepson. “If it’s the majors, that would be great. If it’s something lower, that’s fine with me too. I just want to play to my full capacity and my full potential.”
In 2019, Jepson was the recipient of a Canadian Collegiate Baseball Conference (CCBC) award.
Jepson was raised and graduated in Salmon Arm where, in addition to playing with Salmon Arm Minor Baseball, he also had a career with Salmon Arm Minor Hockey. Jepson played three seasons in the KIJHL with the Sicamous Eagles between 2012 and 2015.
He credited several local ball coaches for getting him to where he is today, including Jeff Lipsett and Ken Whitehead, but he said the biggest influence was his dad, and coach, Dave Jepson.
“My dad was my coach for most of my time in Salmon Arm,” said Jepson.
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BASE | Former @uttylerbaseball standout Riley Jepson has signed on with the Chicago White Sox and will report to the High A Winston-Salem Dash!#SWOOPSWOOP https://t.co/agx8eKvZrw
— UT Tyler Patriots (@uttylerpatriots) August 22, 2022
lachlan@saobserver.net
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