The Missouri high school baseball season kicks off on Mar. 20, opening day for regular season action under MSHSAA regulations. Leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2025 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, counting down to the official Prep Baseball Missouri Preseason Power 25 Rankings.

Perennially, we’ve submitted a preseason questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.

Our 2025 preseason coverage continues today.

 

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2025 SEASON OUTLOOK

No. of Returning Position Players: 7 returning postion players that saw significant innings at the varsity level.
No. of Returning Pitchers: 5

Top Returners:

• Ben Collier (2025) - 6’1", 190
  • Ben is very strong athletic outfielder. Ben does a great job on defense showing above avg range and closing speed. We will look for Ben to hit somewhere at the top or bottom end of the lineup to provide speed.
• Daniel Hesemann (2025) - 6’0", 180
  • Daniel is another athletic outfielder that will provide us both a defensive presence as in the OF as well as some innings in our rotation.
• Nic Ruter (2026) - 5’10", 185
  • Nic is our top returner hitting over .400 last season and leading us in many offensive categories. We will look forward to more of that, hopefully, as well as lean on Nic for more innings in the pitching rotation when not playing on the infield.
• Jack Smith (2026; Missouri) - 6’0", 190
  • Jack is our top returning arm in our pitching rotation. We will look forward to him leading our pitching staff as well as taking a bigger role offensively. Jack is verbally committed to play baseball for the University of Missouri.
• Nate Lask (2026) - 6’0", 205
  • Nate is returning as our backstop. Nate is one of the top catchers in the area and has the potential to provide a power source in the middle of our lineup.
• Bennett Otto (2026) - 6’1", 190
  • Bennett is a solid right handed hitter that will have more of a presence in our lineup. Bennett has the ability to be a consistent bat and also plays in the OF.
• Connor Fenske (2027) - 5’10", 178
  • Connor Fenske is a young strong and athletic sophomore that will immediately help us offensively, in the outfield, and on the mound. Connor has power and speed and should showcase those tools well!
• Elye Henderson (2027) - 5’8", 170
  • Elye Henderson is another prospect in our talented sophomore class. Elye is a solid and athletic infielder that will compete for a starting role at shortstop. Elye also possesses a nice left handed stick that will provide balance and consistency to our lineup.
• Sam Boster (2027) - 6’1", 185
  • Sam is a 4-sport athlete this year. He will be competing for our track team during our baseball season. When he isn’t with his track teammates, he will compete for a centerfield starting spot. Sam is one of the elite centerfielders in the area with great speed and hands as you might have seen on the football field. We look forward to a larger role defensively and offensively for Sam.
• Cole Hunt (2026) - 6’1", 163
  • Cole found his way in our rotation last year as a sophomore and pitched some valuable innings. We are looking forward to Cole taking a jump and more of a leader for our team on the mound.
    

Top Newcomers:

• Charlie Fairchild (2027) - 5’9", 170
  • Charlie is a really strong defender on the infield and will see time at 3B this Spring. Charlie is a part of a strong sophomore class and he also has the ability to help us on the mound.
• Hudson McLean (2027) - 5’8", 155
  • Hudson is a strong athletic middle infielder that will compete for a starting job at second base. Hudson showcases a nice skill set of speed, power and overall can play multiple positions.
• Rhett Layne (2026) - 6’1", 175
  • Rhett is a junior that will compete for starting positions in the middle infield and help us on the mound. Rhett has grown a lot in the last year or two and will benefit from the strength and length he has gained. Rhett is a promising young hitter that can help us right away in multiple areas.
• Jack Morrison (2026)
  • Jack is a left handed OF and pitcher that has seen great growth and strength. Jack will immediately help us on the mound and looks to have a chance to compete for OF time and offensively in the lineup.
• Gage Wells (2027) - 6’4", 200
  • Gage is a big RHP/1B. He has a lot of great tools including a promising young left handed swing that shows high potential. Gage will help us in our pitching rotation and take on a larger role in the pitching staff.

Key Players Lost:

• Ben Ruter (Drury)
• Jack Schoen
• Cole Schoen

Coach’s Insight: “Our team has more athleticism and speed this year. We are still considered young but we will be able to play defense at high level. We have the right mix of guys to take away some hits both up the middle on the infield and our center fielder is very quick. We are excited about these components! Our weakness will be our pitching depth. We have some quality arms but our youth combined with returning small amount of innings pitched will be something we are trying to manage. We only had four incoming freshman. We will expect everyone to be available to contribute to the pitch staff!” – Courtney Spitz, head coach

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Find more information on the 2025 Springfield Catholic program below:

+ Follow them on X: @BaseballIrish
+ Visit Prep Baseball Missouri’s 2025 MSHSAA Team Previews page to learn more.

+ If you are a high school coach and didn’t receive our questionnaire, please click HERE to fill out the form

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