Metea Valley outfielder Jeremy Wrona made quite a splash during his freshman season.
The left-handed Wrona cracked the Mustangs’ starting lineup in 2021, following in the footsteps of his older brother Dylan, who had graduated one year earlier.
“Jeremy was blossoming into one of the better players in the area,” Metea Valley coach Steve Colombe said. “He started on the varsity level as a freshman. He pitched and played outfield. He got thrown into the fire right away in both roles.”
Then Wrona was named All-DuPage Valley Conference during his sophomore season.
“I played well,” he said. “It was definitely my favorite year. I was able to play every game, and I played hard. It was a great season.”
So Wrona started thinking about college.
“I was going to camps and doing recruiting stuff to get my name out there,” he said.
That’s when Wrona’s run of bad luck began.
He suffered an injury in his left elbow during a camp at Indiana in October 2022. He went through physical therapy and was getting ready for his junior season when he suffered a fractured hamate bone in his right hand on a check swing in February 2023. Surgery and more physical therapy followed, sidelining him for the first two weeks of the season.
After Wrona returned to the field, he played for the Mustangs for several weeks. Then he felt pain in his left elbow while he pitched one inning in late April. He was eventually diagnosed with a torn ulnar collateral ligament, and he missed the rest of the varsity season and most of the travel season. He had Tommy John surgery on June 30.
Metea Valley’s Jeremy Wrona runs home during a nonconference game against Yorkville in Aurora on Saturday, April 13, 2024. (H. Rick Bamman / Naperville Sun)
Wrona’s father, John, noted the series of setbacks had no precedent.
“He’s been incredibly durable throughout his whole career,” John Wrona said. “Through nine years of travel baseball and his first two years on the varsity, he pretty much didn’t miss an inning due to an injury, much less a game. For him to have back-to-back-to-back injuries, it’s a difficult thing.”
Jeremy Wrona hasn’t pitched or played anywhere else on defense this season. But he has been hitting, and he is doing well, batting .380 with a .643 on-base percentage and an impressive 1.101 OPS. Wrona, who committed to the College of San Mateo on Tuesday, also has nine extra-base hits, 10 RBIs and 14 runs scored for the Mustangs (5-7, 1-4).
“Jeremy has a very good disposition,” John Wrona said. “He has done an exceptional job of reacting to these injuries and staying focused and being patient, while having a sense of urgency to recover and get back to helping his team win.”
Metea Valley senior catcher Daniel Bastidas, a Heartland commit, agreed that Jeremy Wrona has remained upbeat.
“Jeremy’s always been a positive on the team and is trying to help us any way he can,” Bastidas said. “Even though he’s hurt, he doesn’t let his emotions stop him from being a positive and helpful teammate. He also swings it well, so that always helps the team.”
Colombe said he’s glad to have Jeremy Wrona back in the lineup.
“You feel for him,” Colombe said. “We did have some really good rosters the past couple of years. If he was available on the mound or in the field, we would probably have gotten a few more wins. But he’s been a huge addition to our lineup this year.”
Wrona said he hopes to return to the outfield within a week.
“I’ve not had any major problems with my arm,” he said. “You never know what’s going to happen. I’ve taken good care of my arm. I’ve definitely had some ups and downs with hitting and throwing, but my swing has gotten better the last few months.”
Metea’s Jeremy Wrona tracks down a fly ball during a DuPage Valley Conference game against Naperville North in Naperville on Wednesday, May 4, 2022. (Mike Mantucca / Naperville Sun)
Wrona, who said he has learned the importance of patience, also may have stumbled on his future career.
“I’ve learned so much about my arm and the importance of arm care and mobility and your body,” he said. “I maybe want to become a physical therapist and work on guys who have gone through what I have.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
