Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
Jase Bowen, a Northwood native who starred as a prep student-athlete at Central Catholic, was called up on June 1 to make his Major League Baseball debut for the San Diego Padres.
In his MLB debut against the Philadelphia Phillies on June 2, Bowen went 1-for-4, producing his first hit in the seventh inning off Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering with his family in attendance.
The 25-year-old outfielder was hitting .292 at Triple-A El Paso while registering 13 home runs, 11 doubles, and five triples. He joined the Padres organization this past offseason from the Pittsburgh Pirates system.
The Pirates drafted Bowen out of high school in the 11th round of the June 2019 amateur draft. Prior to that, the multi-sport star had been committed to play wide receiver at Michigan State, but chose professional baseball instead.
In 2023, Bowen hit a minor-league career-high 23 home runs at Greensboro, which is the Pirates High-A ball organization. He was promoted to Double-AA Altoona, where he spent the final eight games of that season plus 110 games in 2024.
In 2025, Bowen was promoted to Triple-A Indianapolis, where he hit .294 with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 36 games. In total, he spent time with four minor league teams last year.
In the offseason, Bowen signed with the Padres organization, where he was assigned to Triple-A El Paso and spent the first 49 games at before being called up.
Bowen played shortstop at Central Catholic. He has said playing professional baseball has been his dream since playing starting travel baseball at the age of seven.
The former Lake Middle School student even wrote in a seventh-grade diary entry that he hoped to either play at the Division I level or get drafted once he turned 18.
As a senior at Central Catholic in the spring of 2019, Bowen led the Three Rivers Athletic Conference (TRAC) in batting for the second-consecutive season at .550 (44-for-80) and RBIs (31). He added one home run and 14 stolen bases, was named the Division II Player of the Year in the state of Ohio, and was the TRAC Player of the Year for the second-consecutive season.
As a junior, Bowen led the TRAC in batting at .527 (48-for-91) with eight home runs and 25 RBIs. He also led the league with 47 runs and 29 stolen bases. He also earned an invitation to the East Coast Pro series in Alabama, where he competed in front of MLB scouts.
As a football player at Central Catholic, Bowen was a starting receiver, returner, and punter for three seasons. He twice led the Fighting Irish to the Division III state semifinals and was a Division II All-Ohio selection as a senior.
