Vote now for The News Tribune’s Baseball Athlete of the Week (May 11 to 16)
Vote now for The News Tribune’s Baseball Athlete of the Week for contests played between May 11-16. Voting will remain open until noon Thursday.
The poll is located below. You can read about all the candidates and their accomplishments below.
Note: If you are not seeing the poll at the bottom of the story, try opening the story in a different browser, such as Chrome or Safari. Votes emailed will not be counted.
Want to nominate a South Sound high school athlete in the future? Email reporter Jon Manley (jon.manley@thenewstribune.com) or Tyler Wicke (twicke@thenewstribune.com) or send a direct message on Twitter/X (@manley_tnt or @WickeTyler) with the athlete’s first and last name, school, year, position and a stat line from game(s) during the past week. Nominations must be submitted by 5 p.m. Sunday.
Preston Bolam, Emerald Ridge — Leadoff center fielder went 3-for-3 with two walks, two runs and three RBI in Wednesday’s district win over Graham-Kapowsin.
Neal Burtis, Tahoma — Senior left-hander threw a no-hitter in Tuesday’s district win over Union that punched Tahoma’s 4A state ticket. Burtis walked one and struck out 10 across seven scoreless frames.
Talon Coker, Tahoma — Junior right-hander threw six scoreless innings (3 H, 3 BB, 4 K) to outlast Olympia, 1-0, in Saturday’s district semifinals.
Xander Cypher, Sumner — Senior right-hander threw five strong innings to lift Sumner over Tahoma, 10-2, in Saturday’s 4A District 3/4 championship game. Cypher went 1-for-2 with a double, two walks and two RBI at the plate.
Cardo del Fierro, Kentridge — The leadoff second baseman’s walk-off single in the seventh inning kept Kentridge’s season alive and delivered a 3-2 win over Bonney Lake on Tuesday. The senior finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI.
Mattson Ducharme, Fife — Trojans senior threw six strong innings (6 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 3 K) in Tuesday’s district win over Port Angeles.
Cooper Hordyk, Curtis — Junior right-hander punched Curtis’ 4A state ticket with 5.2 strong innings (1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 5 BB, 4 K) in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Battle Ground.
Kolton Jensen, White River — Junior left-hander tossed a complete-game shutout (7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K) to punch White River’s Class 3A state ticket in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Bellarmine Prep.
Gregory Johnson, Puyallup — Sophomore first baseman homered and went 1-for-1 with three walks, two runs and three RBI in Tuesday’s district win over Mount Rainier. Johnson added a double (2-for-4, RBI) in Wednesday’s win over Union.
Jacob Lawrence, Kentlake — Junior second baseman hit two doubles (2-for-4) and plated three runs to outlast Peninsula, 9-4, in the Class 3A district semifinals.
Ka’ipo Matsushima, Kennedy Catholic — The Lancers catcher’s go-ahead, two-run double in extras lifted Kennedy Catholic to a 4A state berth in Saturday’s 5-3 win over Battle Ground.
Ryder Merrill, Graham-Kapowsin — The infielder’s walk-off single in the seventh inning kept Graham-Kapowsin’s season alive and delivered a 7-6 win over Auburn Riverside on Tuesday.
Bryson Miller, Bellarmine Prep — Lions starter threw 5.2 strong innings (4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 5 K) in Tuesday’s district win over North Thurston, 4-1.
Jake Miller, Sumner — The second baseman’s walk-off double in the seventh inning clinched a 4A state berth and completed Sumner’s comeback win over Kennedy Catholic on Tuesday, 7-6. On Saturday, Miller hit two home runs in the district semifinals (3-for-3, 4 RBI) and earned the save on the mound (2 IP, 0 R) in a championship-game win over Tahoma, 10-2.
Gavin Mills, White River — Hornets right fielder went 3-for-4 with four RBI in Tuesday’s 10-1 district win over Central Kitsap.
Christopher Moore, Kentlake — Senior right-hander threw 6.2 scoreless innings (2 H, 4 BB, 9 K) to punch Kentlake’s 3A state ticket in Wednesday’s 7-0 win over Silas.
Cade Owen, Silas — Senior right-hander threw five shutout innings (3 H, 1 BB, 6 K) in Tuesday’s district win over Auburn Mountainview, 5-0.
Oliver Potts, Enumclaw — Hornets senior went 3-for-4 with three RBI, adding five solid innings on the mound (5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) in Tuesday’s district win over Capital. Potts went on to strike out four (4.2 IP) and help clinch Enumclaw’s state berth in Saturday’s win over Silas.
Dylan Reano, Decatur — Gators third baseman went 3-for-3 with a home run, two doubles, one walk and five RBI to punch Decatur’s Class 3A state ticket in Wednesday’s win over White River.
Gabe Schrader, Orting — Cardinals starter threw a complete game (7 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 4 BB, 4 K) and went 2-for-2 with one walk and one RBI in Monday’s district win over North Mason.
Brayden Seiber, Kennedy Catholic — Sophomore right-hander threw six scoreless innings (4 H, 2 BB, 7 K) in Wednesday’s 9-2 district win over Camas.
Burke Shepard, Curtis — The center fielder’s two-run single in the fourth inning lifted Curtis over Battle Ground, 2-1, and punched the Vikings’ 4A state ticket on Tuesday.
Daniel Sleeter, Gig Harbor — Sophomore right-hander threw a five-inning perfect game with eight strikeouts in Saturday’s 3A District 3 championship win over Kentlake, 12-0. Sleeter went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double, two runs and two RBI.
Zach Smith, Gig Harbor — In three district wins, the Tides catcher went 5-for-10 with a home run, two doubles and six RBI, helping deliver Gig Harbor’s district title.
Carter Woods, Fife — Junior left-hander threw a complete-game shutout (7 IP, 4 K) to punch Fife’s Class 2A state ticket in Saturday’s 5-0 win over North Kitsap.
This story was originally published May 18, 2026 at 2:24 PM.
