The 2023 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Washington.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons at the State Tournament, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Washington. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and eventually releasing our preseason Top 25 teams in the state.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state. Each week we will be releasing our players of the week and updating the Top 25 teams in the state.

High School Name: Eastside Catholic

Coach’s Name: Kyle Larsen

Classification: 3A

No. of Returning Positional Starters: 8 position players

Team Strengths: Return nearly every starter and have plenty of depth on offense and defense this season. 

Top Returning Players:
'23 Jack Lee (Edmonds CC)
'24 Luke Rhea
'25 Will Crain
'23 Cooper Renfroe
'23 Jack D'Antonio
'25 Zack Sieger
'24 Nick Barac
'24 Daxx Delucchi

Prospects includes all players within the program who have PBR profiles, it does not indicate Varsity status

2023 Prospects:
Charlie Powell
Chason Beltran
Conley Porter

2024 Prospects:
Charlie Pennington
Dylan Peay
Charles Parsonson
Rowan O'Connor
Nolan Curran

2025 - 2026 Prospects:
'25 Micah Bartle
'26 Cassius Culpepper
'26 Ryan Long
'25 August Leinweber

Team Outlook: 
The 2022 Crusaders finished with a final record of 9-14-2 last season and advanced to the round of 16 in the 3A playoffs. With 8 returning starting position players and some key arms back from last year, they look poised to improve the total in the win column for 2023. Senior Jack Lee (Edmonds CC) will be a key run producer this season with his ability to drive the baseball with power to all fields. Fellow seniors Charlie Powell, Jack D'Antonio and Cooper Renfroe should also be 2  of the more consistent and experienced hitters in the line-up. Some key juniors offensively this season will be Daxx Delucchi, Nick Barac, Charlie Pennington & Rowan O'Connor. In the preseason, Barac showed some explosive athleticism with his running abiltiy and has exciting raw power potential to tap into. On the mound, junior Luke Rhea and sophomore Will Crain will likely get consistent starts. Crain was up to 87 mph in the preseason and has some of the best projection of any arm in the '25 class. Zack Sieger and Micah Bartle are 2 other sophomores to watch who have shown the abiltiy to control the barrel and also provide consistent defense. Overall, this is still an incredibly young roster but a lot of promising pieces are in place. If the pitching can mature quickly, there's enough talent on defense and at the plate to allow the Crusaders to take a big step forward this season. 

Follow on Twitter: @PBR_Washington
Follow on Instagram: @PBR_Washington
Follow on Facebook: PBR Washington