Paul Jones II: Building On a Family Legacy While Establishing His Own

As college baseball season gets started, Paul Jones II launching homers at Bob “Turtle” Smith Stadium will quickly become a common sight. 

In a lineup full of power, one Terp’s path to College Park started generations ago and was shaped by a family of support and legacy. 

“Baseball’s been a part of my life and everything I do for as long as I can remember,” Jones II said. “There was always something going on with baseball, or sports in general. My family’s always been super competitive in everything we do. Everything was always a game for us.”

Some of his earliest memories involve batting practice with his dad in the basement of his childhood home in Burnsville, Minnesota. It’s a room riddled with holes from balls, bats, and everything in between. 

He grew up in the state where his grandfather, Cesar Tovar, had a prolific Major League Baseball career. Tovar hit .278 over a 12-year professional baseball career, playing in nearly 1,500 games.

While Jones II never met Tovar, he was able to celebrate his grandfather’s legacy as the Minnesota Twins inducted Tovar into the Twins Hall of Fame in 2022. Jones II was gifted an honorary jersey and invited to throw out the first pitch at Target Field. 

“It was a great moment,” Jones II said. “My whole family was there. I got to meet a bunch of extended family from my grandpa’s side, so that was really awesome.”

Jones II pursuing baseball was always a given, but also a choice. His family — the most important thing in his life — supported him through several sports and childhood activities, but none of them ever rose above the sport he was destined to play. 

“Everything in my family is always a choice,” Jones II said. “Nobody in my family has ever made me do something I didn’t want to do, but baseball was just something I grew up with, so I never really imagined not playing baseball. It was always something that we all enjoyed.”

Growing up in frigid Minnesota certainly posed its challenges for a boy with baseball prowess, but once Jones II found his footing in the sport, he was fully hooked. 

“When I was around 11 or 12, I started realizing that I’m pretty good at baseball,” Jones II said. “Once I got to high school, I started getting stronger and started hitting the ball a little farther and a little harder. That’s when I realized that maybe I could do something with this and go to college and play for a good while.”

It was hard for Jones II to move over 1,100 miles away from his family in Burnsville, but his biggest support system makes sure he never feels too isolated. His parents and sister, Anesha, travel to as many games as they can. When the Terps played the Golden Gophers in Minnesota last season, they organized an entire section of support for Jones II’s homecoming. 

“Family is really everything to me,” Jones II said. “They’re why I’ve stayed motivated to play. If I ever think about not wanting to do anything, I always think about my parents and everything they’ve put into me. I just want to be able to give that back to them through playing for them.”

It took a lot to draw Jones II away from Burnsville, but a unique recruitment path found him a new home in College Park with head coach Matt Swope. 

Jones II was playing in a tournament down in Atlanta. Swope was there scouting a different kid. Jones II — as he so often does — got a hold of a ball. The crack of the bat made Swope’s head swivel from multiple fields away.

“He came over and watched one of my next at-bats,” Jones II said. “I hit another ball pretty well, so he came and watched me again the next day. I played well in that game, so we started talking. Ever since I started talking to him, I knew this is where I wanted to come.”

“I’ll recruit anybody,” Swope said. “I didn’t care that it was a Minnesota team. I love the diversity piece that he brings. Something I’ve been really proud of is having the diversity of our team reflect the DMV. It wasn’t easy for him to come all the way here, but he trusted in me and we’ve trusted in him.”

Baseball’s truly a sport that connects people in the strangest ways. From professional idols to lifelong friends, Jones II’s list of people he’s met through the sport transcends even his own imagination.

“Baseball’s brought me to meet so many people,” Jones II said. “Being able to meet so many people that knew my grandpa and played with him has been special. Being able to learn from them is something that I’ll be forever grateful for. I never would have imagined myself being so far from home, but there are so many great people here. I never would have met the teammates I have now if it wasn’t for baseball.”

Jones II is establishing his own identity, one that honors his family and its legacy while writing new chapters of his own story. After a 2025 season that saw him slug .282 with a grand slam and claim Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors, Jones II is excited for what 2026 promises to bring. 

“I’m excited to get to play a bit more this year,” Jones II said. “We should be a better team this year. I’m excited to see how much we’ve grown with all the new transfers and everybody buying into the program this year.”

“He’s obviously got some really raw power,” Swope said. “He’s good defensively. If he can hit 10 to 15 homers, he’s going to be really huge for us.”

Off the field, his two focuses — family and baseball — remain at the forefront of his mind. Everything he does is honed on improvement and making his kin proud. 

“Honeslty, I don’t do much outside of baseball,” Jones II said. “The people that know me always say I’m pretty boring. I play video games a lot, I listen to music, but other than that, I really don’t do much.”

He saves his contagious energy for the field. When his cleats hit the dirt, he transforms back into the kid in his basement in Minnesota who just loves every chance to play ball.

“When I'm playing, you’ll probably see a whole different person,” Jones II said. “You see me smiling a lot more. Baseball brings out a whole different side of me.”

Jones II is following in the footsteps of a family that’s provided him a start and all the support he could ever want. Now, he gets the chance to be role models for others as he dons the red, black, and gold. 

“As a baseball player, you don’t really see many Black players,” Jones II said. “Being able to give younger kids somebody that they can look up to is important. When they can see someone who looks like themselves doing something that they want to do, it gives them a little bit of hope, and that’s something I want to provide.”