Stacked Puyallup baseball team features one of state’s deepest lineups
A banner on the outfield wall at Heritage Field paints the picture of the Puyallup High School baseball program, documenting every Class 4A state tournament appearance. Longtime coach Marc Wiese might want to put an order in for a second banner, because they’re running out of space.
Since the turn of the century, Puyallup has 17 state tournament appearances, including state titles in 2014 and 2017, and runner-up finishes in 2009 and 2012. The standard, clearly, has been set.
“It’s a big motivation factor,” said junior center fielder Donte Grant, a WSU commit. “To us, every game, we play it like a state championship game.”
It’s a good bet Puyallup will add to that banner this year. The Vikings are off to a 9-1 start, the lone loss coming to a very good Sumner team. There are few teams as stacked with future college talent as Puyallup, led by Grant (WSU), sophomore catcher Kai Halstead (Stanford), junior pitcher Brett Ellingson (Seattle U), senior pitcher Adam Brooks (Northwest Nazarene), senior Noah Fields (Tacoma CC), senior outfielder Garrett Ringer (Linfield), freshman Mason Pike (Oregon State) and freshman Gage Thompson (Oregon State).
“We push and feed off each other a lot,” Grant said. “It’s very competitive. People are going to rotate in and out and it’s just going to be really good.”
The depth makes it difficult for Wiese to choose a lineup some days (not that he’s complaining).
“We’ve got about 14 guys that should be starting day in and day out and I’ve gotta choose nine of them,” Wiese said. “We’ve got a great blend of some youth, great senior leadership. … I just like our mix.”
Puyallup is without senior ace and 2021 TNT All-Area first team selection Wyatt Jones (elbow) this season, but Ellingson and Brooks give the Vikings a high-level pair of left handers. With no postseason during a covid-shortened 2021 season and no season in 2020 at all, Puyallup’s players are eager for a crack at the playoffs this year. For many of the players, it’ll be the first chance in their high school careers.
“We’re hungry, for sure,” Ellingson said. “We want it all. We want to win a state championship. We wanted to go undefeated but we’re still going for the state championship, winning the rest of the game.”
Of all Puyallup’s talented pieces, Grant may be the most important. The junior center fielder has elite speed, the ability to cover plenty of ground in the outfield and is a terror on the base paths. Football fans in the fall got a taste of that tantalizing speed, with Grant being utilized regularly on the fly sweep.
“He’s absolutely electric,” said Wiese. “He’s a game changer. He can run, he can throw, he can hit with a little bit of power. When Donte is playing well, we’re really, really hard to beat. I’m really proud of how much he’s matured through the years. I’ve known Donte since he was about nine years old. Great family, he’s a great kid. He’s going to have a great Pac-12 career and the sky’s the limit. He’s got a chance to be a big leaguer, in my opinion.”
Sumner’s offense exploded in a 15-12 win over Puyallup on Wednesday, April 6, handing the Vikings their first loss of the season. Sumner’s Jake Bresnahan hit three home runs in the win. Sumner’s park is smaller than Heritage, doing the Vikings no favors.
“It didn’t help us at Sumner, (Grant) couldn’t go track those ones down,” Wiese said, laughing. “We can just throw him out in center field and if the ball gets up in the air, we feel pretty good that he’s got a chance to go run it down. What he can do on the base paths — baseball is all about putting pressure on the other team. He’s one of those guys that can do that with every aspect of his game.”
Grant is hitting .500 this season with three doubles, a triple, three home runs, 22 RBI and six stolen bases.
The 4A South Puget Sound League is one of the deepest leagues in the state. Puyallup, Sumner and Olympia are all legitimate 4A state title contenders. Curtis, Rogers, South Kitsap and others are all capable of beating any team in the league, as well.
“It’s really good,” Grant said. “It’s not going to be easy. You can’t take anything for granted and we just have to play hard.”
This story was originally published April 10, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
