Hartley eager to give back to the game that gave him so much
“The Judge” Jett Hartley made a name for himself during his playing days throwing people out on the bases from behind the dish at Wildcat Baseball Field. Now Hartley is ready to give back to the game he says has given him so much.
“Playing college baseball, this game has given me so much in my life,” Hartley said. “Just about everything I have is from the game of baseball. When I was in college, I was riding the fence about whether or not I wanted to get in it or not, because I didn’t want to give this game up. I got to thinking about it and then some doors started opening up in my life and opportunities started showing up and I decided I can’t just walk away from this.”
He added, “The game has given me everything and now it is time for me to give back to this game, and that was my mindset coming into coaching. I like being able to compete and I’ve always said the best thing in the world is getting to play baseball, and now I get to do the second best thing and coach it. That is a big reason of why I got into coaching.”
Hartley is a Littlefield native, born and raised here, he graduated from Littlefield High School in 2017. He Attended Sul Ross State University where he played baseball for four years, while earning his degree in Criminal Justice in 2021.
After college, Hartley spent a year at Slaton where he was an assistant baseball coach, before returning home to Littlefield last season, where he was also an assistant baseball coach.
“Right out of college, I picked up a job at Slaton working under Dilon Chancellor and Jace Chancellor,” he stated. “They really molded me into a lot better coach than what I was. I still had a playerminded aspect and they really taught me a lot of things that I needed to learn in order to be a better coach.”
He added, “ After being at Slaton, I got the opportunity to come back to Littlefield and work with Mitch McNeese and it was like a whole new world opened up. McNeese is a great man and he taught me a lot about the game, and I also had Nathan McKinnon there to teach me as well through this process.”
Hartley talked about being able to work on these two staffs prior to earning his first head coaching job, saying, “I think it helped tremendously because coming into coaching I still had a playerminded aspect, so getting to come in and see their perspective of coaching, each one of those guys, Dilon, Jace and Mitch, they each look at the game differently. So, I got to look at it from the outside and pick up what they did and mold it into my philosophy and what I really wanted.”
He added, “Dilon is a great dude, Jace is a great guy and Mitch is one of a kind. I will never be able to thank those guys enough, because without them I wouldn’t be where I am today.”
Hartley talked about what the philosophy is that he is hoping to instill in his program, saying, “When I was in college, our philosophy was cutthroat, we were down by one mentality all the time. We were always looking to be as aggressive as we can. That’s the philosophy I’m trying to bring; we’re going to swipe as many bags as we can, we are going to bunt the baseball as much as we can, we’re going to be discipline. I think that is a big part of things that we need to change and the guys know this.”
He added, “I’ve came in and had individual meetings with them and kind of told them what our expectations are. But, philosophy wise, we know we have speed, we know what our struggles are, we know we don’t have guys who can leave the yard all the time, so we have to be able to put pressure on teams. I think the small-ball game is something you don’t see on TV much anymore. I think that being able to execute those bunts and hit-andruns in a moving offense, I think that’s only going to help us out. It’s going to open up the field for us and make us more successful along the way.”
The Coach talked about what made him want to come back to Littlefield, stating, “I am a homebody.”
“ My whole life I’ve loved Littlefield, I’ve always supported Littlefield, I love this town, I like the culture that it has created, I love the products that it produces and as soon as I got the opportunity I came running back, because I want to be a part of this,” he explained. “The kids are great, the community is great, the coaches are great, the people are awesome, I just like the tight knit family feeling.”
He added, “ I found out at Slaton, it is not like that everywhere. To get the opportunity and come back and be a leader within the community and hopefully be a big part of someone’s life. I want to be here.”
The coach talked about what it has been like being back in Littlefield, but on the coaching side of things, saying, “Being on the coaching side of things has been very eye-opening. There are some things that as a player I never even noticed.”
He added, “Now getting to be on the other side of it and getting to see the prospective of being a coach in Littlefield, Texas, it’s been really good, very eye-opening and very humbling at times. I’m very grateful to get to see this side of things.”
When asked about what he’s most looking forward to about taking over the baseball program in Littlefield, he said, “I’m just looking forward to it all.
“I’m excited to get to be around these guys, and just grow them in a way where yeah maybe they like the game of baseball right now, but I want them to love the game of baseball,” he said. “Not just because you’re out there throwing a baseball, winning games, losing games, I want you to go out there and realize all that this game can teach you.”
He added, “Baseball is a very humbling game. It will teach you good things and it will teach you very bad things if you allow it. I’m excited to see us succeed, but I’m also excited for failure to see how our guys overcome it and use what they’ve learned, what they’re being taught throughout this game, in their lives as they grow up as young men and grow up to be young fathers and good workers and things of that sort.
Hartley explained that he has two coaches that really inspired him on his journey to becoming a coach.
“My dad has coached me from the time I was four years old, all the way up, and he is someone who was extremely hard on me, but I’m very blessed that he was there for me. He taught me a lot about the game, he taught me how to love the game, but he also taught me how to play the game the right way. Without him being my main coach and my main leader in my life; that’s just someone who when I was in high school and college I would really lean on him for advise. He got me to this point and is one of the best coaches I’ve ever had. I will forever be grateful for him.”
He added, “The other coach is my college coach, Bobby Mesker. I came in as a freshman and I wasn’t guaranteed anything; that’s exactly how I wanted it. I wasn’t guaranteed any playing time and I came in and had to work my butt off to get what I wanted. He allowed me to come in and start as a freshman. He was an extremely hard coach and demanded a lot of things, but if it wasn’t for him I wouldn’t be the coach that I am today. I pride myself on being discipline and a lot of that is because I learned from those two guys, my father and Coach Mesker. Those two guys molded me into what I am today.”
Lastly, Hartley discussed what it means to him to have been able to play for Coach McNeese, Coach alongside Coach McNeese and now be handed the keys to the Wildcat Baseball Program.
“I’ve been thinking about this for a while now,” he explained. “I come in as a 14-year old kid and Coach McNeese moved me up and I start for him as a freshman. I went through all four years, rode the highs, rode the lows, we had some really good years in there. I went off to college to do my own thing, but I came back every summer. Coach McNeese would be there, I would help out at the summer baseball camps, still getting his thoughts on stuff and picking his brain all the time. Then, I get into coaching and so now I get to see him on the other side, and that was very eye-opening as well.”
He added, “So, now not only have I played for you, but now I’m playing against you and then to come back this year and play with you. All three different perspectives and all three different insights that you get to see. Now for him to hand me over the keys to the baseball program, I will forever be grateful for Coach McNeese. He is not only somebody that has not only highly influenced my life throughout my career, but for him to trust me enough to hand me the keys to something he has built up. This baseball program is like his baby, he has lived and breathed this baseball program for the last 20 years. For him to have enough trust in me, a young dude, to come in and hand the keys over to me, I can not thank him enough. It’s a very humbling experience, I’m excited and I hope Coach McNeese understands how grateful I am for him and I can not thank him enough.”
Hartley stated that he and his girlfriend, Alyssa Rodriguez like to go down to Ruidoso in their free time.
“We like to hang out with each other and hang out with family,” he said. “That is a big reason why I came back here was to be around my family, and Alyssa is from Dimmitt, so we’re both close to our family. We like to hang out with family and just relax.”