High school baseball: 2026 South Sound preseason practice tour
It’s windy, it’s rainy, it’s cold and it might start hailing in a few minutes. Welcome back to high school baseball season.
As games begin in March, The News Tribune is visiting local programs across the South Sound, providing photos, videos and insight on what to expect during the 2026 season.
Follow high school sports reporter Jon Manley (@manley_tnt) on X for updates on social media. Also, follow reporter Tyler Wicke (@WickeTyler) for updates on our South Sound softball practice tour.
Staff photographers Liesje Powers (@liesbethpowers) and Brian Hayes (@_Brian_ICT) will also be out around the South Sound photographing games throughout the spring.
GIG HARBOR TIDES
Gig Harbor was three outs away from playing in the 3A state tournament championship game last spring, but Kennewick rallied in the seventh inning in Yakima and stunned the Tides. To add insult to injury, Gig Harbor was informed its third-place consolation game the next day was canceled — but hey, let’s leave the past in the past.
This year’s group is eager to show last year’s 27-3 record and deep state tournament run wasn’t a fluke. Reasons for optimism start with elite starting pitching, a rotation that returns Quentin Bockhorn and Jake Cuda.
“I’m pretty confident with the pitching staff this year,” Bockhorn said during practice Monday at Sehmel Homestead Park, a 98-acre PenMet Parks facility with turf fields. “I think we’ll be just right with pitching. We were all working pretty hard in the offseason and I think our bats will surprise people.”
While the middle of Gig Harbor’s lineup had some thump last year, pitching and defense were the biggest ingredients of the winning recipe for coach Ben Sleeter.
“If you pitch well and play defense, you’re always gonna be in every single game,” Sleeter said. “And I think the same can happen this year, but you’ve gotta figure out how to get them run support.”
It might take a little time to replace the bats of graduated Danny Porras (now the starting right fielder at UW), Ethan Mar and Cole Krilich, as well as the speed on the base paths and the rangy defensive play of shortstop Jayce Corley. Hunter Payne will slide in at shortstop this year and said he’s up for the challenge.
“I’ve been playing with Jayce since my freshman year,” Payne said. “He’s the kid I looked up to for playing baseball. Now that he’s gone, I feel like I have to fill his shoes.”
It might take some time for all the bats in the lineup. Then again, it might not. Bockhorn said there’s a quiet confidence the Tides will be able to fill the holes in the lineup left by last year’s graduating class.
“I think our bats will surprise a lot of people,” he said.
Other players to watch: lefty pitcher Max Bergford, outfielder Greyson Riley and pitcher Logan Pedersen.
PENINSULA SEAHAWKS
Winning the 3A District 3/4 baseball title last spring was sweet, but what made it even sweeter? The win came against crosstown rival Gig Harbor, which was the No. 1 team in the WIAA’s RPI rankings at the time.
“No one really expected it coming,” said now-junior catcher Pete Browand, who recently committed to Fresno State. “As the year went on, we bonded as a team. … We were all ready for it, but I don’t think anyone else was. We just proved everyone wrong. We did our thing and it showed.”
Browand, a second-team all-league catcher last spring, returns, along with first-team all-league 2B Kainoa Coit and 1B Thomas Marzano. Seahawks coach Matt Thomas foresees a lot of Seahawks on the base paths this spring. Pitcher/shortstop Kaleb Copeland also returns.
“I think we’re really gonna hit the ball well this year,” he said. “My four best hitters from last year are all back. Three of them for another year after this. Knowing what they can do, their stepping into leadership roles will help all these young guys I’ve got.”
Peninsula has advanced to the 3A state tournament each of the past two years but has run into elite pitchers in the first round. It’s a long season, but Thomas said this year’s group is eager to make a deeper run later in the spring.
“Everyone is wanting to get it,” Copeland said. “Everyone wanted it last year, but we want it more. We want it more than the next guy. Getting up there playing, whoever it might be, we want it more, for sure. 100 percent buy-in from everyone, just doing the little things right.”
One thing’s for sure: expect a seven-inning fight from the Seahawks in every game.
“We will hit the ball and I think we’re gonna be sneaky on the base paths,” Browand said. “We have a lot of team speed and I think we showed in the jamboree (last) Saturday, our ability to go through our lineup pretty well, get it to every single guy and just pass the torch.”
CURTIS VIKINGS
6-foot-4 Curtis pitcher Cooper Hordyk had a breakout season as a sophomore last spring and commanded the strike zone as well as anyone in the 4A SPSL, tossing 50 strikeouts to just six walks.
“Just throwing strikes,” Hordyk said of last season’s success. “First-pitch strikes, especially, is super important. Just getting soft contact, just filling up the zone.”
He’s back for more, and this year he’s throwing harder, his velocity creeping up in the mid-80s.
“I think it can overpower hitters, especially with my command and offspeed pitches,” he said.
Bryan Robinson, who is now one of the league’s longest tenured coaches in his 14th season after the retirement of longtime Puyallup coach Marc Wiese, is bullish on his junior No. 1 pitcher.
“He’s a physical specimen when it comes to what you want out of an athlete on the mound,” Robinson said. “I think he’s gonna provide just stability, you know what you’re gonna get out of him every start around the zone, he works quick, he’s gonna compete and the guys love playing behind him.”
Curtis also returns all-league catcher Joe Giles — perhaps the team’s best defensive catcher since Quinn Stauffacher donned the blue and white in 2022 — and all-league shortstop Riley Angelo.
“I think we’re all around pretty good,” Hordyk said. “We’ve got a lot of pitchers returning, a lot of bats. So I think we’ll be pretty good this year.”
Robinson said it’s a tight-knit group and thinks its chemistry could lead to special things.
“They have come out and have gelled incredibly quick,” he said. “We have a really good group of guys that are returners from the team that went to the state tournament last year. And they know how to compete. We’re not having to teach that. We’re just implementing some things that we know we need to cover, competing as much as we can at every practice.
“But they’re doing it themselves. It’s a really enjoyable group of guys because they know they can compete in one of the toughest leagues in the state.”
SUMNER SPARTANS
There’s a buzz around Sumner’s program this spring. Expectations are sky-high for the Spartans, which have one of the state’s deepest lineups and feature one of the state’s top two-way players in junior Wyatt Plyler.
Plyler, a TNT All-Area selection last spring, hit .470 with 19 RBI and as a pitcher, posted a 2.14 earned run average with 57 strikeouts as a sophomore. Expect even bigger things this year.
“My goal is to be the best player in the state, man,” he said during a windy practice at Sumner on Tuesday afternoon, wearing a ‘Back 2 Back’ Sumner football state championship T-shirt. “I want this team to win a state championship and that’s my only goal.”
Plyler, who said he has been fine-tuning his mechanics during the offseason, is sitting in the low-90s with his fastball velocity.
“Still trending up,” he said. “It’s still cold, hopefully should be up in the warmer weather.”
Other players to watch: P Xander Cypher, INF Drew Wicklander and INF Jake Miller. Bonney Lake transfers Evan Hellner (New Mexico State commit) and Austin Gailushas are expected to make an impact at some point in the season, as well.
Spartans coach Dylan McLauchlin said he expects the entire lineup to contribute.
“Definitely one of the longest lineups I’ve ever coached,” he said. “Really good hitting group, got a really good squad of pitchers.”
McLauchlin describes his coaching style as “process oriented” and said the Spartans will be active on the basepaths. In his first season last spring, the Spartans stole nearly 100 bases.
“We try to cause chaos as much as possible,” he said.
When they’re not on the baseball field, some of Sumner’s players can be found catching trout on nearby Lake Debra Jane. Right now though, the only thing they’d like to reel in is a 4A state championship trophy.
“We want to win the whole thing,” Plyler said.
PUYALLUP VIKINGS
It feels strange not seeing Marc Wiese in the Puyallup dugout this spring. He retired at the end of last season after 30 seasons coaching the Vikings and building Puyallup into a state powerhouse in Washington, winning 18 consecutive league titles and a pair of state championships in 2014 and 2017.
“Obviously, it’s gonna be a change this year,” said junior shortstop and UW commit Brayden Landry. “Obviously, he’s been here for a while, but I think we’re still gonna have a great staff this year, a great team and we’re still gonna compete and do what we do and win ball games.”
Sean Taunt replaces Wiese this season. Taunt is a Puyallup grad and played for Wiese from 1998 to 2000, before coaching as an assistant under Wiese from 2002 to 2011. Since 2012, he’s been a coach at Pacific Lutheran University, most recently with the Associate Head Coach title. Returning to his Puyallup roots was too good an opportunity to pass up, he told The News Tribune.
“I love working with the age group, I kind of wanted to give back and teach these kids what it takes after high school and what it’s actually gonna take to get it done and be on the field.
“It’s a big difference between being on a college roster and being an impactful guy that gets on the field all the time. So hopefully I can pass some of that onto them and what’s gonna be important and what matters. It’s been a lot of fun so far.”
Sophomore P/INF Madden Pike, senior OF Noah Benedict, junior C Keagan Soliza and senior P Max Schweyen highlight a talented roster. Wiese or no Wiese, the expectations remain the same.
“The expectation is always to win,” Landry said. “We’re out here to win, compete and win ball games. We have strengths all around. We have a great pitching staff, great defense, great lineup. I feel like we’re gonna come together as a really good team this year, have that bond and really be able to compete.”
EMERALD RIDGE JAGUARS
Call it a youth movement, not a rebuild. Emerald Ridge may have lost 10 seniors from last year’s team, but this year’s group is quietly confident the Jaguars will remain a contender.
“A lot of people are gonna underestimate us, now that we lost a bunch of people, but I think we also gained a couple guys, we’ll have guys step up that are gonna be good leaders on this team,” junior RHP Jackson Dion told The News Tribune from an indoor practice at Diamond Sports Training Center in Puyallup on Tuesday. “We’re gonna come out showing people that we’re a good team and we play like underdogs.”
The biggest reasons for optimism: the return of Dion, alongside junior RHP Zach Morris. Both have played varsity baseball since they were freshmen and their arms should keep Emerald Ridge in most of the team’s games this season while the young lineup comes along.
“Offseason, we’ve seen a lot of great things out of them,” Emerald Ridge coach Justin O’Keefe said. “They’ve had the experience. If we can get both of them to 7, 8 starts, there’s three quarters of our season.”
Dion said he’s been working on a new changeup with some dive, while Morris said he’s developed a slider in the offseason.
The 4A SPSL remains one of the toughest leagues in the state, with Sumner, Puyallup, Olympia and others all eyeing deep postseason runs.
“I think a lot of teams underestimate us,” Morris said. “They’re not gonna be ready for what’s gonna happen.”
O’Keefe’s group could see a more small ball, create-havoc-on-the-basepaths gameplan this year. He said the thing that has immediately jumped out to him in early-season practices is how much team speed the young roster has.
“Putting pressure on defenses to make plays is gonna be our biggest thing,” he said. “Ball in play and letting these guys run is gonna be the key to success, I think, for us.”
BELLARMINE PREP LIONS
Joshua Morales couldn’t believe it when he saw 94 miles per hour flash on the radar gun recently in Kirkland. Yes, Bellarmine Prep’s hard-throwing junior right hander is ready for the spring.
“Kinda shocked myself,” he told The News Tribune before a rainy practice at Bellarmine last Thursday, wearing a dress shirt and tie after a school mass. “Ran with the momentum, getting ready for the season.”
Consistently, Morales is in the low 90s. He’ll assume the No. 1 pitcher role for third-year coach Conor Unruh’s Lions this year.
“We’re expecting big things from him,” Unruh said. “He’s been on our roster since freshman year and he’s incrementally over the last couple of years gone up on velocity, has had a big offseason and we’re gonna depend on him. Last year, he was our No. 2 starter. He’s the ace this year, he’s got a target on his back and I’m excited to see him grow into that role.”
In addition to the velocity, Morales said he wants to live in the strike zone this spring.
“Getting that walk count down, pounding the zone and not being afraid of anyone in the league no matter how good you are, where you’re ranked, where you’re committed,” he said. “Just going after it, every batter.”
Bellarmine has some bats to replace, but Unruh feels good about a handful of players, including senior UTIL Aaron Barnhart, senior OF Dawson Brown, junior UTIL Calvin Dossett and sophomore C Mason Montgomery.
“I think we’re gonna pitch well, gonna play good defense, gonna be disciplined in that area of the game,” Unruh said. “Offensively, we’re replacing four big bats from our lineup last year. I’ve been trying to preach to these guys, it’s an opportunity. Who’s gonna take it, who’s gonna run with the opportunity?
“We’ve got a lot of young talent who can step up and fill those roles, so I’m excited to see how our lineup shakes out. Definitely pitching and defense will be kind of our backbone of this team.”
That means plenty of chances for Morales to shine. He’s ready for the opportunity.
“I expect nothing less than success,” Morales said. “We’re just as good to compete with any other team in the league, maybe even contend for the league title. We’ve got some good teams in here, some good names, good players. I feel like we’re able to hang with anyone on our good days.”
SILAS RAMS
Silas’ players felt they fell short of the team’s expectations last season, but the 2026 season offers a fresh start.
“I think we have a lot of expectations and a lot of drive this year from the worse results last year,” said senior Carter Lystra, a four-year varsity player who plays center field and pitches for the Rams.
Lystra is joined by his younger brother, sophomore Eli, who plays first base and outfield, and might pitch a little this spring, too. Silas coach Barron Tanay said the brothers are natural leaders.
“Eli is a little more jovial, bubbly, but an absolute beast, fearless competitor,” Tanay said. “And Carter is also a fearless competitor but a little more intense. They have high expectations. They’re just really good athletes. They can pretty much do it all in the field, and they feed off each other.”
Silas is off to a 3-0 start with wins over Sammamish, Lakes and Capital.
“We’ve been playing really good ballgames so far, team chemistry is incredible,” Carter Lystra said. “We’re hitting the ball really well, throwing a lot of strikes, just hoping to stay consistent.”
Tanay said Silas has been a good pitching and hitting team the past few years. The key for the Rams to take the next step and be a Class 3A state tournament team this season will be consistent hitting. Doing the little things to move runners along is an approach the players have bought into.
“I think situational baseball is huge,” Eli Lystra said. “In a tight game, the games that really matter, it’s gonna be a lot of one-run, two-run games. So being able to do the little things right and score a runner from second with nobody out, that’s gonna be huge.”
Tanay said this group feels more cohesive than last year’s group. Hopefully for the Rams, the team’s chemistry leads to more wins on the diamond this spring.
“We just have a more mature approach to this season,” Tanay said. “I think that’ll be what gets us over the top.”
STADIUM TIGERS
Moving up to Class 4A last year was an adjustment for the Tigers. Top to bottom, the league had better parity and tougher competition than 3A.
“I played 3A my sophomore year,” senior Finn Wood said during practice at the all-turf field at Peck Athletic Fields, a Parks Tacoma facility and home field of the Tigers. “Some games were a little bit easier. In 4A, the average of every team is just way better. There’s obviously the super great teams in 4A. Every team is gonna give you a good game.”
Can the Tigers contend against the likes of Kennedy Catholic, Tahoma and others this spring? The hopes of Justin Hinkle’s squad rest on the shoulders of a capable pitching staff, led by RHP Ethan West, LHP Finn Wood and LHP Elliot Hirl.
“Pitching is a plus,” Hinkle said. “We’ve got a few position players we’re still trying to figure out. I feel a lot better this year than I did last year. We’ve just got more older guys to carry over. With the pitching staff, it’s another year knowing what they’re gonna be facing.”
West, a 6-foot-4 pitcher, can overpower batters with his near-90 mile per hour fastball. Center fielder Aiden Peterson and catcher Eli Weir are two of the team’s better hitters. Like Silas, how far the Tigers can go depends on how well the Tigers are able to string hits together through the entirety of the lineup.
“I think it’s better this season than last season,” Peterson said. “I feel like we connect better than last year.”
Wood agreed.
“We’ve been taking better at-bats,” he said. “We look more confident at the plate, and we know we have the ability to play with these teams.”
The season is young, but a postseason berth is on the mind of Stadium’s players.
“I’m hoping to make playoffs,” Wood said. “We should compete in the league, compete with every team, make it a game with every team.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2026 at 1:28 PM.
