Jon Maldonado ~ Class of 1979

 Jon attended Sparks High School from 1975-1979. He was a three-year Varsity baseball letterman and in 1979 was awarded Northern AAA All Conference Outfielder. After high school, Jon went on to play baseball at the College of Southern Idaho for two years and was the 1981 First Team All-Region 18 with a team leading batting average of .390 and 20 stolen bases. In the summer of 1981, Jon played for an elite American League team, the Carson Capitals, and was the team Batting Champion with a .496 average. In 1982, he played Division I baseball at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. At UNLV he set a team record for most at bats in a single season (296) and tied the University record for single season games played (70). He was awarded All-Tournament Team for the Best in the West Classic in Fresno and tied the tournament record with 12 hits.

            After Jon’s athletic career, he went on to share his passion for sports and coached youth athletics for 16 years. He was dedicated and committed to coaching in the Sparks community and volunteered many years with ASA Fastpitch softball, Sparks Little League, Pop Warner Football, and Reed High School Baseball. He mentored hundreds of youths and won several city championships including Little League City Championship in 2001.

Inducted 2021