Jesse Overholt has been a fixture in center field for Kouts for three seasons.
That’s for good reason, according to coach Jason Dorshorst, who calls Overholt “the best center fielder I’ve ever seen.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a kid who lives and breathes and just wants to catch fly balls,” Dorshorst said. “We had a pretty heavy defensive practice yesterday, and when we got the machine out to launch fly balls into center field, I don’t think there was a more excited kid.
“He takes a lot of pride in his defense. If you ask anybody on our team what Jesse’s forte is and what he’s known for, it’s defense. He just doesn’t get burned in center field, and the jumps he gets, it’s just fun to watch.”
Overholt is also central to the success of the 2025 Class 1A state runner-up Mustangs (14-1, 5-0), who are the top-ranked team in the 1A state coaches poll and lead the Porter County Conference.
While he plays standout defense, Overholt is also producing at the plate, batting .333 with an .877 OPS, and he has six stolen bases. He’s part of a lineup — which also includes sophomore Billy Miller (.400) and seniors Eli Harper (.366) and Landon Garrett (.364), among others — that’s averaging 9.3 runs per game.
That defense in center remains Overholt’s calling card, however, would have surprised his younger self.
“When I got to high school, we didn’t really have a center fielder, and I was like, ‘I can do that. I can fill that role,’” he said. “So I took that to heart, and I wanted to do it to the best of my abilities, and that’s what I did.
“I watched MLB games, and I learned from the best. I watched a lot of Albert Almora and obviously Mike Trout — Mike Trout is awesome; I love him — and recently Pete Crow-Armstrong. That guy is crazy on defense.”
Crow-Armstrong is a comfort blanket for Chicago Cubs pitchers, and Kouts pitchers feel the same way about Overholt. They include senior Noah Gudeman, who has been Overholt’s teammate since youth ball and his friend even longer.
“A lot of the time, if there’s two outs and the ball is hit to center, I’m just walking off the mound,” Gudeman said. “I have confidence he’s going to catch everything. In the Portage game, there was a ball in the gap, and Jesse ran a mile and caught it.
“It’s a good feeling to know that if anything is in the outfield, he’s going to catch it.”
That level of level of reliability is hard to come by in high school baseball, but Dorshorst appreciates Overholt for more than his contributions on the field.
“I have never met someone who doesn’t like Jesse because he is literally the world’s nicest guy,” Dorshorst said. “I would be willing to bet that he’s probably going to thank you three or four times in your conversation with him.
“I’ll miss the catches in center field, obviously, but if you ever need a positive kid to look toward, just look toward Jesse. You don’t replace that kid in terms of his production on the field and as a center fielder, but it’s even tougher to replace that quality of a human being.”
Overholt credits his parents, Andrea and Jeff, as well as his faith for instilling those values, saying he’s “very fortunate to have the parents I do and the church that I do.”
Overholt, who played basketball for four years at Kouts, also has a sister, Anna, who is a junior on the girls soccer, girls basketball, softball, and girls track and field teams.
Anna Overholt has another year left in high school, but the end of Jesse Overholt’s career is quickly approaching. As the family farm and a potential future in welding await him, Overholt wants the Mustangs’ season to run well into June.
“I want this to last as long as it can,” he said. “Take it one game, one practice at a time, and take nothing for granted. Spend as much time as I can with these guys because I don’t know when I’ll see them again.”
Of course, Overholt hopes the journey ends with a state title. It would be Kouts’ first in any sport.
“We want to go back to state, and we want to win it this time,” he said. “We have all the right guys to do it.”
Noah Poser is a freelance reporter.
