POCATELLO — Ask any coach about Dylan Jester, they’ll talk about his love for baseball.

Ask Jester about baseball, and he talks about winning.

That love and competitive engine, combined with Jester’s talent, earned the Highland High senior a scholarship to continue his baseball career at Lower Columbia College. Jester signed with the Red Devils on Monday at Highland.

“It’s a good feeling,” Jester said. “Now we can focus on getting that first state championship.”

Jester was a rock for the Rams during last year’s run to the 5A District 5-6 championship. He spent 161 2/3 of a possible 176 innings behind the plate and was a tough out in the lineup, reaching base in 26 of 28 games.

He finished the season tied for the team lead with eight extra-base hits and drove in a team-best 27 runs.

“His durability is just perfect for the leadership that I’m looking for in a catcher,” Highland coach Christian Colonel said. “He just comes to work every single day like he loves the game. It’s not a job for him or anything like that. He plays baseball like it should be played.”

Jester heads to Longview, Washington, to join a Lower Columbia squad that won its third consecutive Northwest Athletic Conference (NWAC) championship in May. The program’s notable alumni include Colorado Rockies manager Bud Black, and five players from the 2019 squad signed with Division I programs.

Jester said his recruiting process spanned nearly all of his high school career as he tried to get attention in sleepy Pocatello.

He said Lower Columbia made him “feel wanted” and provided a “home-away-from-home” atmosphere.

“They’re really engaged in the players,” Jester said. “One of the biggest things for me and my family was to make sure I feel wanted.”

Now that Jester has a new home, his focus turns back to his senior season on the diamond at Halliwell Park. He wants Highland — and the Pocatello Runnin Rebels American Legion squad — to bring home state hardware.

He’ll play as he always does, with contagious passion and a killer instinct.

“When you can have fun playing that game, it loosens everybody up and lets everybody else go and enjoy it at the same time,” Runnin Rebels coach Nick Sorrell said.