photo by: Paris Junior College

Paris Junior College catcher Gavyn Schlotterback makes a throw during a game against North Central Texas on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, in Paris, Texas.

Gavyn Schlotterback only received limited reps at first base as a freshman for Paris Junior College last fall; by the spring, the Dragons were starting him at that position.

Then, when Paris’ catcher broke his nose, Schlotterback was suddenly catching in every doubleheader and even pitching at the back ends of some of those games.

“I can tell you he was all-conference as a pitcher, all-conference as a first baseman and then all-region as a DH,” Paris athletic director and baseball coach Clay Cox told the Journal-World.

That’s all one guy — and both he and his teammate and older brother, Dylan, who was the Region XIV player of the year, are headed to Kansas next season.

“I think it’s really awesome,” Gavyn said, “on and off the field. It’s certainly helpful off the field, you have someone you know and someone to do stuff with outside of baseball, of course. It’s just someone that I deeply know and connect with.”

Gavyn projects as a catcher — specifically, an ultraconfident presence behind the plate who says he wants to be “the general of the field” and that he always hopes baserunners try to steal so he can throw them out.

Dylan, a third baseman, is “as solid of a glove as you can have on the left side,” Cox says — his one error last year came on a day when it was wet and freezing.

“They’re built different,” Cox said, “which is kind of what we build our program around, is that saying, ‘built different.'”

Dylan signed with the Jayhawks back in the fall, and when it became clear they were looking for a catcher as well, KU inquired about his brother, who decided to make the jump from Paris after just one year at the JUCO level. As it happens, there’s a third brother, Ethan, committed to Paris for the class of 2026: “If the Lord’s willing, we would love for him to be able to go to Kansas as well,” Dylan said.

“The Schlotterback family is (an) extremely close knit family,” Cox said. “Sometimes you get brothers who aren’t as close as these guys are especially, but it was a really cool thing to know that they’re going to get to play in the Big 12 for a top-25-type program together every day.”

Paris assistant coach Boone Privette spotted Dylan his junior year at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, beginning a pipeline that would eventually allow the Dragons to attract each of the three brothers.

“We felt like he really provided a lot of opportunity to be a guy we needed to bring in,” Cox said. “I don’t think a lot of people would have guessed he would be where he is today after two years of junior college, but it’s just a testament to the work ethic of that guy.”

Cox said he’s the kind of player who refuses to take a day off.

“I think that the term cage rats, gym rats, all of that, man — these guys, from their nutrition to every time you look up in between classes, before classes, after practice, they’re in the cages, they’re on the field getting extra work in,” Cox said.

Perhaps as a result, Dylan was an immediate hit as a freshman at the hot corner, when he hit .367 with eight home runs and 54 RBIs; in his second season he upped those numbers to .389, 12 and a whopping 81.

“Coming out of high school I had no interest,” Dylan said, “and I wasn’t the biggest, I wasn’t fast, I wasn’t strong … I stuck to it and I dedicated everything I had to it.”

photo by: Paris Junior College

Paris Junior College’s Dylan Schlotterback connects with the ball against Bossier Parish on Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Bossier City, La.

Maybe his most standout statistic is how rarely he strikes out: 19 times in 109 games at Paris. Cox said he never saw him give an at-bat away.

“I think it’s preparation,” Cox said. “I think it’s knowing who he is. Some guys try to do too much, some guys try to press in certain situations. There’s a calmness about Schlott that he knows what he’s looking for, he knows how to fight pitches off.”

“I don’t want to lose,” Dylan said. “And it’s me versus the pitcher and my mentality is just to refuse to lose to the pitcher and just win the at-bat any way I can.”

Dylan was not heavily recruited when KU first took notice of his play. He was taking part in a round-robin tournament in Dallas, where he was “blessed enough to be able to have a good showing and pique some interest in some schools.” KU watched him play and he did well over a couple days.

As he went on a visit and got to know the coaching staff, it became clear the program was the right choice for him. He signed in the fall as part of KU’s third-in-a-row No. 1 junior-college recruiting class and then got to see proof of concept as the Jayhawks reached the postseason for the first time in 11 years.

“It wasn’t really shocking to me, seeing how they ran the program and all that, I knew big things were ahead,” he said. “Kansas historically has struggled the last however many years, but I could tell that they were on the right track.”

It wasn’t until late in the spring, however, that it became clear Gavyn would be joining the Jayhawks next season. With KU looking for a catcher, Dylan had put in a good word about his brother and his potential interest in the team.

“They would need to come see how I do and how I would perform in-game,” Gavyn said, “and they came out to a few games and I guess they liked what they saw and they reached out to me, asked if it’s something I’d be interested in, and of course, and it also helped having my brother there. It’s someone I’ve played with the last four, five years of my life, because it started in high school.”

In his lone year at the JUCO level, Gavyn hit .365 with nine home runs and 49 RBIs from his various positions and also had 10 saves in 19 appearances on the mound with a 3.19 ERA. He said he likes playing both ways because he can “kind of have the game in my hands,” and Cox said that his competitive nature and his three strong pitches helped him be effective even if he didn’t have the highest velocity.

KU announced Gavyn as a catcher/pitcher when he signed in May, but he said they view him primarily as a catcher who will potentially have the opportunity to take the mound.

“I’m going to go in, just work and try to earn that spot,” he said. “But also, like, if pitching is something they need to help the team it’s something I would 100% be down for and want to do.”

Added Dylan: “I think he’s more than prepared. He’s without a doubt the best defensive catcher I’ve ever played with.”

From Cox’s perspective, there was an “initial shock” to see the younger Schlotterback leave Paris after one season, and it was a blow to the Dragons because of how difficult it is to find closers in junior-college ball. But, Cox said, sending him on to KU is “a notch in our belt, too.”

“It’s a hole for us,” he said, “but at the end of the day that’s what we’re here to do.”

The coach praised the ability of KU coach Dan Fitzgerald and recruiting coordinator Jon Coyne to identify and recruit talent — talent like the Schlotterbacks.

“You got two just true blue-blood baseball guys, man,” Cox said. “They’re going to be guys that are going to be fan favorites.”