(Team Saskatchewan Baseball/Facebook)

By Ben Tompkins

Merek Yeager

Muenster ballplayer commits to NCAA Div I

Dec 11, 2025 | 12:07 PM

A local baseball player will soon be making the jump to NCAA Division I after announcing his commitment to a Texas team.

Muenster native Merek Yeager has joined the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Vaqueros of the Southland Conference.

“I love the school down there. I thought it was a great fit for me, and it’s a great way for me to get my feet into some Division one level competition. They’ve told me I’m going to get lots of opportunities there, and I really enjoyed my visit,” Yeager told northeastNOW.

“The fact that I’ve been committed, before even throwing a college pitch, just means they have a lot of trust in me and know I’m going to perform for them. That’s pretty rare, especially for a guy from small-town Saskatchewan, so I’m pretty proud of that aspect. Lots of kids would die to have this opportunity, and this is a pretty rare chance of what I’m getting here, so I’m extremely motivated.”

Yeager, just 18 years old, is currently playing in his first season with the Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons in Hutchinson, Kansas.

Freedom and Flexibility

How App-Based Work Creates Economic Opportunity

Dec 12, 2025

Riderville

Now for the Hard Part

Dec 10, 2025

Seniors Scene

Christmas is Coming

Dec 09, 2025

Meanwhile, the past two summers, Yeager has been suiting up close to home with the Saskatoon Berries of the Western Canadian Baseball League.

The plan, according to Yeager, is to finish the year with Hutchinson, play again with the Berries in the summer, and then head down to Texas in the fall.

“The plan was to go to junior college for one or two years and then transfer to division one. This is a great spot for me to develop and get better, and then hopefully get drafted. That’s where the end goal is, so this is a large step in my baseball development, and probably the biggest of my career so far,” he added.

“With the Berries, I went to their academy, and I got the chance to be a starting pitcher there this year, so I’ve developed exponentially there, as I was allowed the chance to pitch against guys who’ve been in college for many years already. Now with Hutchinson, I’m getting that next step of development, so really I’ve progressed two levels in the last year in preparation for division one.”

For the next eight to nine months, all that Yeager will be doing is making sure he’s ready for UTRGV, as he’ll be competing against power conferences like the SEC and ACC.

Pretty impressive for an 18-year-old kid from small-town Saskatchewan, with dreams bigger than Texas.

“It’ll definitely be a big jump, I don’t think people realize how good Division One baseball actually is. We’re going to be playing against teams like Texas, who have a bunch of draft guys on their team, so you can almost consider it like a low-level MLB minor league program. If you think about it that way, it’s a large jump because you’re not seeing hitters or pitchers like that in junior college,” concluded Yeager.

“I think one of the reasons I’ve been so successful is because I’ve often been put on teams where I’m the youngest, which I love, because people aren’t expecting much from me. I put the pressure on myself and am able to prove that I’m as good or better than these guys, which has created my motivation and work ethic. Going to division one as a 19-year-old, I’m going to show them that I’m a guy for them and perform.”

–

Ben.Tompkins@pattisonmedia.com

On X @BenTompkins_8