SOLON — Last season Coach Keith McSweeney celebrated 25 years with the Spartans who saw their 202 campaign end in a 6-2 Class 3A Substate semifinals lo WaMaC West rival Clear Creek Amana (CCA). Seniors Gehrig Turner, Tyson Wheeler, Brick Kabela, Josh Milliman, Vince Steinbrech, Cole Farnsworth, Kaden Hanson, Garret Stebral, and Brett White saw their time in Spartan orange and black end with the final out. White, the ’24 WaMaC East Player of the Year and unanimous First Team selection, led the team with 47 hits including a team high 13 homeruns. Steinbrech was a First Team pick at pitcher with an 8-0 record through 53-2/3 innings with a 2.48 ERA and a .303 batting average. Turner was a Second Team pick at catcher with 41 hits and 150 put outs while Wheeler earned WaMaC
Recognition with a 3-2 record through 38 innings with
a 1.47 ERA. In year 26 and with a 631-343 career record, McSweeney returns experience in the bullpen and the dugout.
“We return two of our top three pitchers from last year as well as a good nucleus of guys that played a significant role last year,” he said adding “We lack experience at other spots and our sophs and juniors need to emerge.”
Seniors Nolan Seagren, Ty Bell, Jackson Link, and Beau Mullen will provide leadership for the Spartans in the 2025 campaign.
Link (pitcher/utility) went 7-2 through 54 innings on the mound with a 2.06 ERA and 38 strikeouts while Bell (outfield/pitcher) went 3-2 in 43 innings with a 2.60 ERA. Seagren (infield/pitcher) had a .354 batting average with 45 hits, 11 doubles, 28 RBIs, and 38 stolen bases to earn WaMaC East First Team (utility) and All-District 2nd Team honors. Mullen (utility) had a .238 batting average last year.
Also back are juniors Dylan Gorham and Carson Kidwell. Gorham (outfield/pitcher) had a .258 batting average with 25 hits and 66 put outs in center field.
Kidwell (catcher) appeared in two games last year with eight put outs in nine chances.
New to the varsity line up are juniors Hunter Knorr (outfield/pitcher) and Hayden Detra (infield/pitcher), sophomores Luke Deike (pitcher) and Brady Wick (pitcher/infielder), and freshman Luke Merrick (outfield).
Looking at the WaMaC McSweeney has his eyes on Marion (East) and CCA (West) as the teams to beat.
“Everyone returns significant experience so it should be a very strong year in baseball in the WaMaC.”
After scrimmage games against Dubuque Hempstead, Cedar Rapids Kennedy, and Prairie, the season opened Monday, May 19 with a doubleheader against Bettendorf and a visit from Muscatine Tuesday, May 20. Xavier Catholic visits for a JV/Varsity contest Tuesday, May 27 with a home doubleheader against Mount Vernon on tap Wednesday, May 28.