Photo by Jake Olson: From Left to right: Co-Head Coach Parker Anderson Noah Meixell Colsan Anderson Kaleb Kennedy Ian Matejka Preston Cepress Talon Ebeling Caiden Loken Kade Fennern Brock Jagodzinske Michael McCorkell Easton Kuehl Liam Pytleski Head Coach Jon Traetow

WELCOME – The teachings and philosophies of Martin County West baseball head coach Jon Traetow have only seemed to further instill in the program as he enters his second season at the helm.

Last year’s team was defined by the sometimes unfortunate epitome of baseball. The Mavericks 3-13 finish didn’t entirely define the strength of the roster. Traetow says that if a couple plays in the field or at the plate bounced their way, that record would have smoothed out to something more competitive. This can be seen during MCW’s 10-0 victory over Sleepy Eye Saint Mary’s, a team that finished 12-12 after a handful of section playoff wins.

“Last season was just an ultimate microcosm of baseball where one little hop here or there could mean the difference in a big inning or getting out of a jam,” Traetow said. “We had a super competitive bunch last year, but just didn’t get that final out in a couple of innings when we needed to.”

Seven seniors from that roster have now departed. Traetow said that each senior started in games one way or another throughout the year. Perhaps the most impactful of these graduates was Lucas Larson, MCW’s No. 1 pitcher, who also had major contributions in the batting order.

Cam Meyer, Eli Owens, Jake Wilmes, Brenan Ringnell, Richard McMains and Jaremiah Olson were the other contributors from a class that mimicked to the underclassmen how to be a baseball player on and off the field.

“They set a really good standard moving forward because they were super coachable,” Traetow said. “They showed the younger guys how things are supposed to be done.”

The Mavericks, however, have a handful of returning talent who played on the varsity roster as a freshman, sophomore and junior a year ago. Traetow expects this talent to only improve after another season in the program.

The pitching staff should bring back a good amount of innings from last season with a mix of both upper and underclass talent.

Traetow called now-sophomore Colsan Andersen one of his most consistent arms from last year, citing his ability to force a lot of missed barrels. Noah Meixell was the Mavericks No. 2 arm behind Larson and has the capability to take over that top spot as MCW’s ace pitcher.

Traetow and his staff have seen tremendous growth from Michael McCorkell from last season to now, noticing an uptick in ball movement and pure velocity. Liam Pytleski is a hard-throwing sophomore who Traetow says can easily be one of the top rotation pieces based on pure arm talent.

“I’ve got a really good core four right there with Michael, Liam, Colsan and Noah,” Traetow said. “But I also have some fill-in pieces as well.”

Easton Kuehl and Preston Cepress are some other individuals who are more than comfortable stepping on the mound to fill out some innings.

“I’ve got some arms to use, but it all boils down to throwing strikes consistently,” Traetow said. “We talk about that every single day when we are throwing our bullpen sessions.”

Cepress and Meixell also bring back experience in the batting order after playing in every single game last season. Kuehl fits his utility role efficiently with his ability to play every position on top of giving opposing pitchers a tough at bat, and Brock Jagodzinske will add talent to the lineup with his hitting skills.

The mindset and ideology that Traetow brings to this season’s Maverick team is to take things one day at a time. Regardless of the outcome in a game or practice, coming back the next time around with a positive mindset will lead to the success MCW seeks.

“Baseball is a game of successes and failures, and oftentimes it’s more failures,” Traetow said. “It’s about having the mental fortitude to flush it down and move on.”