Jaxon Ladner was recently recognized for his leadership skills, and that won’t change the way he does things for the Aberdeen Smittys.
Ladner received the 2025 Bryce Anglin Scholarship Award for the Smittys, and he plans to continue to do what he can to help the team in every way.
“It’s cool to win the award. It’s an honor to be up there with that list of names, but I’m just trying to stay on it. It’s no different than it was before I got that award,” Ladner said. “I’m still trying to be that leader for the team and be that guy. And it’s crunch time now. We really gotta step up and win some baseball games.”
For the senior, his life has revolved around baseball since day one.
“I mean I’ve had a baseball bat in my hands since I can walk, I think. Obviously, I played since first day of T-Ball, played rec ball for the city, pitching machine Smittys,” Ladner said. “Any baseball I could get my hands on in town, I played.”
The way that Ladner plays now is the same way he’s always played, even back to his first memories of baseball.
“Whenever my mom talks about T-Ball, she said I was always playing really hard at T-Ball,” Ladner said. “I do remember I just had this little red bat when I was a little kid. I remember my dad taking me to the store, I was probably 3 years old maybe. I just had that red bat in my mind ever since I was a little kid.”
While the South Dakota weather limits baseball opportunities, Ladner makes sure he stays in baseball shape throughout the year by taking advantage of inside spaces.
“I always had a net set up in my basement. Obviously, not the most ideal. You couldn’t see live pitching, but it’s just kind of a flat net. I took swings off the tee all the time,” Ladner said. “You did your rice bucket forearm stuff, I did all that. Just small things to mostly keep my mind in baseball.”
Having the right frame of mind is also key in a sport where failure is a big part of the game. Players need to deal with limited success when it comes to baseball.
“Baseball’s a game where if you fail 70% of the time, you’re gonna be a hall of famer. It’s just a game of failure. Every part of baseball is a game of failure,” Ladner said. “It really teaches you a lot about life in the aspect of you know you’re gonna fail no matter what. It’s just how you come back from that failure, make the adjustment, and continue to play hard.”
Ladner said that his junior year of playing with the Smittys is where he saw the most growth, both as a player and as a person.
“My friends and I were always the starters on the team. But last year, we got there and there was 5 or 6 super seniors and very talented baseball players, so we just kind of had to take a backseat and let them be leaders for us,” said Ladner. “I think I grew as a leader and in some ways, figured out what to do and what not to do, so I could be a leader for this team this year.”
The Smittys currently have a 7-21 record, but the majority of those victories have come recently as the squad prepares for the upcoming postseason.
“You can easily roll over and die. It’s the easiest thing to do and that’s not what we’re gonna be. The coaches have told us this whole season, you know we’re not starting off the best, but every game, we piece something together,” Ladner said. “We’re just trying to piece those things together and put it all into one game. You know, there’s positives and negatives to take out of every game and if we can start putting all those positives together at the end of the year here, that’s where we’re gonna make a run.”
Ladner will focus on his approach at the plate as his high school career is coming to a close.
“Me personally, it’s just knowing my approach at the plate and not trying to do too much. In a situation where you got the bases loaded and you’re down by 10 and you need that rally, you wanna be the guy to put up a big swing and hit a home run,” Ladner said. “For me, I always swing too hard and it’s an infield pop-up. So, I think recently, I’ve been settling down and just trying to flip one over the second baseman or a line drive down the line.”
With only nine games remaining until regions, Ladner will look to leave a lasting legacy on the Smittys’ organization.
“I just hope everyone thinks, or can see that I work hard and I want the best for my teammates and not just myself. I’m probably a little hard on those boys a lot,” Ladner said. “I feel like I’m kind of the dad that no one likes, you know what I mean. Sometimes, it feels like that, but I just want the best out of everybody and myself included. I’m one of those guys that isn’t going to tell you to do something that I’m not gonna do.”
With the Gopher Classic this weekend, Ladner plans to make the most out of one final tournament.
“Always something to look forward to is your tournaments with the guys. Especially at the Gopher Classic, you get to do a lot of fun stuff,” Ladner said. “Everything else aside, just being out there playing baseball with the boys, out in those hot days being tarps off with the guys, joke around, have some fun and just play the game of baseball.”
And leading by example just like he always has.
