High school baseball preview: Top teams, players in South Sound in 2023

The high school baseball season is underway, and as usual, there’s plenty of talent in the South Sound this spring. Here’s what to watch for this season, some teams to keep an eye on before the postseason approaches and some of the area’s top players.

4A NPSL

Top to bottom, this figures to be one of the area’s most competitive leagues this spring. Tahoma, Federal Way and Kennedy Catholic are the frontrunners. Kentwood, Kentridge and Decatur could all be in the picture, as well. Tahoma boasts one of the state’s best players in senior catcher and UW commit Carson Ohland, who hit .431 last spring with seven doubles, three triples, two home runs and 15 RBI. Senior right-handed pitcher and first baseman Logan Pierce — a two-time all-league first-team selection — posted a 2.12 earned run average last spring and hit .333 with 17 RBI. Federal Way may have the best arms in the league. There’s plenty of buzz surrounding sophomore right-handed pitcher and UW commit Orlando Young, who touches 90 with his fastball and features a pair of plus offspeed pitches. Luke Koenig, a 6-foot-6 righty, sits in the upper-80s with his fastball and has a plus changeup and pitcher Austin Crawford was a first-team all-league selection last spring. Outfielders Jay O’Neill and Isaiah Afework highlight the Eagles’ offense. Kennedy Catholic boasts one of the league’s most dangerous lineups, led by reigning league MVP and TNT All-Area selection Micah Hagler, who pitches, catches, plays first and third base for the Lancers. Keep an eye out for Kentwood’s trio of juniors — center fielder Jackson Dulay, shortstop Jake Sauceda and pitcher Kasen Landry lead the Conquerors. Kentridge has a young team, led by junior outfielder Rylan Gullard, infielder Austin Nelson and sophomore infielder Ethan Sugimoto.

4A SPSL

Puyallup, Sumner, Olympia and Curtis will contend for the league title, while Rogers and Emerald Ridge have promising rosters, too. Reigning 4A state champion Olympia lost 2022 TNT All-Area player of the year Rylan Haider (WSU) and All-Area first-team selection Taber Fast (Texas Tech) to graduation, but there’s still plenty of talent on the Bears’ roster. Senior left-handed pitcher Sax Matson, a USC signee, tops Olympia’s rotation with an upper-80s fastball. First baseman Evan Nicol, a Saint Martin’s signee, broke the school record for RBIs last season and third baseman Logan Shepherd (TCC) broke the school record for runs last year and has pop in his bat. Olympia boasts a pair of quickly-rising sophomores in pitcher/outfielder Lincoln Berg and pitcher/shortstop Trace Pruitt. Puyallup has the deepest roster in the league — and maybe the state — led by junior catcher and Stanford commit Kai Halstead, a TNT All-Area selection last spring. He posted a .387 batting average with six doubles, a triple, 22 RBI and 24 runs scored last season. Center fielder Donte Grant, a Central Arizona commit and TNT All-Area selection, is one of the league’s most electric players. Pitchers Hunter Grasser and Brett Ellingson lead the Vikings’ rotation. Sophomore Mason Pike, an Oregon State commit and switch-hitting middle infielder and right-handed pitcher, is one of the area’s top players in the 2025 class, alongside sophomore shortstop and Oregon State commit Gage Thompson, who hit .345 last season. Curtis returns TNT All-Area shortstop Gavin Brubaker, who hit .377 with five doubles, six triples, a home run, 14 RBI, 16 runs scored and 22 stolen bases last season. He was lights out as the team’s closer last spring. The Vikings also return ace Tyler Logan and outfielder Parker Mady, as well as three-sport athlete and outfielder Xavier Ahrens, who was a starting receiver/defensive back for Curtis’ playoff football team and a regular contributor on Curtis’ 4A state champion basketball team. The Vikings have raced out to a hot start to the season, including a come-from-behind 7-5 win over Sumner on March 27. Sumner is led by its No. 1 pitcher, Jake Bresnahan, a hard-throwing lefty and Oregon commit. He was a first-team all-league selection last spring and is one of the area’s top players in the 2023 class. Outfielder Jay Mentink — a Princeton football and baseball commit — was a TNT All-Area selection last spring, after hitting .348 with five doubles, two triples, two home runs and a team-high 21 RBI. Junior Jaxen Mentink — Jay’s cousin and son of ROOT Sports personality Angie Mentink — is one of the area’s top catchers and has big-time pop in his bat.

3A NPSL

Auburn is the 3A NPSL’s only returning state playoffs team, advancing to the quarterfinals last spring — the best finish of any 3A program in the South Sound in 2022 — before losing to eventual state champion Mercer Island. The reigning 3A West Central/Southwest district champions graduated league MVP Colton Anardi from last season’s run, but return two-time 3A NPSL first-team outfielder Amari Goodfellow, who also pitches. Goodfellow, who plays quarterback for the Trojans’ football program, was also the 3A NPSL player of the year in the fall after leading Auburn to its first league title since 2009. His brother Jailon, an outfielder, as well as outfielder Brendan Stein, are also returning starters for Auburn this spring. Auburn Riverside is the only other 3A NPSL program that picked up a postseason win last year, advancing in the district tournament before losing to eventual state qualifier Gig Harbor. The Ravens bring back 3A NPSL first-team pitcher Landen Richards. Auburn Mountainview — which returns two 3A NPSL first-teamers in infielder Emilio Feliciano and pitcher/outfielder Emmett Weichbrodt — and Kentlake also advanced to the district playoffs last season.

3A PCL

Bonney Lake is the two-time defending league champion, and graduated league MVP Nic Lewandowski and two more 3A PCL first-teamers, but still returns starters from the group that advanced to the 3A state first round last season. Mason Wright, a first-team infielder last season who has also pitched for the Panthers in the past, is one of Bonney Lake’s top producers at the plate, and contributing in a designated hitter role this spring. 3A PCL first-team pitcher Eli Markquart and first-team infielder Evan Riebli are also back, among several more all-league selections. Silas advanced to a 3A state play-in game last season, and returns seven starters, including last season’s 3A PCL pitcher of the year in Gavin Yoder, who has also played infield and outfield for the Rams, and is one of the program’s top contributors on offense. Stadium’s Marcel Mercado has been one of the top pitchers in the 3A PCL throughout his career, earning 3A PCL most valuable pitcher honors as a sophomore and a first-team selection last season as a junior. Both Bonney Lake and Silas are undefeated early on in 3A PCL play, with their two league meetings set for late April. Stadium’s only two league losses are to Silas.

3A SSC

Peninsula advanced to the 3A state first round last season, and is the defending league champion. Reigning 3A SSC MVP Payton Knowles led the way last spring, pacing the Seahawks to their first league title since 2012. The Gonzaga-bound shortstop led the league in several categories on offense, posting a .527 batting average, nine extra-base hits, 22 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Knowles is one of five returning starters for the Seahawks this season, who also return pitcher and utility player Gavin Sheets, a 3A SSC first-teamer in 2022. Rival Gig Harbor was the only other 3A SSC team to advance out of the 3A West Central/Southwest district tournament last season, reaching the 3A state play-in round. North Thurston, which finished a game short of the bracket, losing to the Tides in a winner-to-state game in last season’s district tournament, returns the league’s reigning pitcher of the year in Brett Haggerty. Timberline is another contender, led by two-time 3A SSC first-team catcher Kaleb McNeely and six more returning starters. The Blazers already have wins over a pair of defending state champions from Thurston County this season in Olympia and Tumwater. Capital returns five starters. Central Kitsap brings back all-league performers in shortstop Mateo Castro and center fielder Garrett Cooper, who is committed to Washington State, and has two early wins over Peninsula.

2A SPSL

We like Enumclaw’s chances to win the league this year. Fife lost a lot of production to graduation, but always factors into the league title race. Steilacoom and White River could be in the picture, too. Enumclaw features right-handed sophomore pitcher Cooper Markham, an Oregon commit. There are several multi-sport athletes on the Hornets’ roster, too — Center fielder Emmit Otero was the team’s star running back in the fall, senior shortstop Noah Seabrands paced the basketball team to the 2A state tournament and pitcher/infielder/outfielder Karson Holt played starred on both the football and basketball teams. Third baseman Jeb English and junior pitcher/first baseman Garrett Chavis are both all-league returners. Fife returns outfielder/pitcher Andrew Olson, Aidan Graham and pitcher Braden Bedell. Steilacoom lost a ton of talent to graduation, but features perhaps the league’s best player in junior pitcher/shortstop Micah Bujacich. He was named a captain this year in honor of teammate and lifelong friend Reese Widman, who died in January. The Sentinels and coach Corey Widman, Reese’s dad, are honoring Widman this season with the mantra, “One day at a time for Widdy.”

2A EVCO

It’ll come down to reigning 2A state champion Tumwater and perennial league power W.F. West. Interestingly, the teams met in the state tournament semifinals last spring, with Tumwater coming away with a 6-3 win before defeating Columbia River in the title game, 1-0, a day later. Pitcher/third baseman Alex Overbay leads the T-Birds; senior outfielder Kyler Collier, senior shortstop Brayden Oram and sophomore pitcher/outfielder Derek Thompson are players to watch. Rochester features one of the league’s top players in pitcher/outfielder Braden Hartley. W.F. West returns first-team all-league infielder Gavin Fugate, a senior.

TOP 40 PLAYERS TO WATCH

OF Isaiah Afework, Federal Way, sr.

OF Lincoln Berg, Olympia, soph.

P Jacob Bresnahan, Sumner, sr.

INF Gavin Brubaker, Curtis, sr.

P/SS Micah Bujacich, Steilacoom, jr.

OF Garrett Cooper, Central Kitsap, sr.

INF Ian Draper, Rogers, soph.

OF Jackson Dulay, Kentwood, jr.

P Nick Fazio, Emerald Ridge, jr.

P Nic Gibson, Emerald Ridge, sr.

OF Amari Goodfellow, Auburn, sr.

OF Jailon Goodfellow, Auburn, sr.

OF Donte Grant, Puyallup, sr.

P Hunter Grasser, Puyallup, sr.

P Brett Haggerty, North Thurston, sr.

UTIL Micah Hagler, Kennedy Catholic, sr.

C Kai Halstead, Puyallup, jr.

INF Martyn Hernandez, Rogers, soph.

INF Payton Knowles, Peninsula, sr.

P Michael LeJeune, Puyallup, jr.

P Tyler Logan, Curtis, sr.

P Cooper Markham, Enumclaw, soph.

P Sax Matson, Olympia, sr.

C Kaleb McNeely, Timberline, sr.

C Jaxen Mentink, Sumner, jr.

OF Jay Mentink, Sumner, sr.

P Marcel Mercado, Stadium, sr.

INF Michael Navarro, Capital, jr.

INF Evan Nicol, Olympia, sr.

C Carson Ohland, Tahoma, sr.

INF Alex Overbay, Tumwater, sr.

P/INF Logan Pierce, Tahoma, sr.

UTIL Mason Pike, Puyallup, soph.

INF Gage Reeser, Timberline, jr.

INF Logan Shepherd, Olympia, sr.

INF Gage Thompson, Puyallup, soph.

P Drew Welk, Bellarmine Prep, sr.

DH Mason Wright, Bonney Lake, sr.

P/OF Gavin Yoder, Silas, jr.

P Orlando Young, Federal Way, soph.