Wayne signs to Bethany Lutheran for baseball

Owen Wayne, senior student at NRHEG High School, signed on to play baseball for Bethany Lutheran College in a ceremony on Thursday, Feb. 12 in New Richland. The room was full of classmates, teammates and family members who were there to show support.

 

Dan Stork, Activities Director for NRHEG, said, “This guy has done it all for a very long time. First he was in T-ball, then he bumped up to Quad City, then he moved on to 507 Baseball. I have to tell you, that ISG Field over in Mankato he’ll be playing on is incredible. I promise everyone they have a very good program over there; he’s in good hands.”

 

Owen signed his letter of intent with a baseball bat on the table in front of him; his dad Brandon sat on his right, his mother Jodi on the left and one of his sisters, Quinn, sitting at the table on the other side of their mother. He signed to a round of applause, and once that was done, the phones and cameras came out and spectators began snapping photos. He was asked which snapshot he would like to go in the paper, and he replied after careful consideration, “I want a picture with my team.”  

 

Owen’s mom Jodi mentioned Owen had taken part in Bethany’s “Prospect Camp” early this past October. She said he showed his skills with fielding, batting, and some running.

“We got a call about a week later from the coaches, and not long after that we paid the college a visit. We toured the facilities; we saw the dorm rooms and had lunch there. One of the baseball captains, an older student, gave us most of the tour, then some of the coaches came and showed us the rest of the campus. The indoor facility they have for winter practice is big and impressive. I think they use it for multiple sports, but for baseball it’s just perfect.”

 

Owen’s 2025 statistics show he had an earned run average of 2.602, had 37.2 innings pitched and 57 strikeouts. Also in attendance at the signing were Owen’s grandma Suzy Routh, his grandma Jodi and grandpa Brian. When asked whether he wanted to give a speech, Owen politely and respectfully declined despite the calls of “Speech! Speech” from his teammates.