By Michael Cignoli (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
NIXA — The Nixa baseball team set a new school record with 32 victories in its first year under head coach Logan Hughes, but ultimately fell short of its lofty expectations.
The disappointing end to the 2022 campaign – a 5-3 loss to rival Kickapoo in the district title game – has helped the team prepare for what’s shaping up to be another promising season.
“In the end it was a great season, but we didn’t win a district title or a state title,” Hughes said. “That’s the goal every year. There are so many good teams in our district and all across the state and our guys know what we did last year wasn’t enough. We have to work harder, put in more time, get stronger and overall just be better if we want to take the next step. The guys understand that every pitch matters and you can’t take pitches off.”
The Eagles must find a way to replace a 10-player senior class who were the driving force behind a 14-win improvement from the 2021 season. Seven are now playing at various colleges, including a trio of all-state selections.
“We graduated a lot of really good baseball players and great young men last year who were an integral part of our success in so many ways,” Hughes said. “They had a huge impact in the dugout, on the field, during practice, in the community and in changing our culture.”
Their departures create plenty of opportunities for returning players and newcomers — particularly in the pitching rotation, where the Eagles graduated three starters.
“One of the things we are excited to see is who is going to step up and take a leadership role on this team,” Hughes said. “Who is going to step up on the mound for us this year and earn all the innings we lost from last year’s seniors?”
Two leading candidates are Brayton Tangora and all-conference pick Rylan Evans, who saw action out of Nixa’s bullpen last year and are poised to play more prominent roles as seniors.
“They both pitched in a ton of big innings and had success,” Hughes said. “We expect them to be two of the leaders of our staff this year.”
Seniors Ethan Taylor and Parker Bridges, juniors Nate Uber and Alex Thomason, sophomores Jackson Gamble, Colin Kelley and Elijah Adams will also look to fill the void on the mound.
CLICK HERE TO FIND LINKS TO ALL OF THE SPRING SPORTS PREVIEWS
The Eagles have no shortage of firepower at the plate, as postseason honorees Wyatt Vincent, Rylan Michel, Tanner Grant and Jack Edwards are all returning
Vincent is a sophomore Missouri State commit, who earned all-conference and all-district honors after an impressive debut in the Nixa outfield. He hit .376, drove in 24 runs, scored 33 and stole 24 bases.
“He’s an extremely hard worker who makes everyone around him better,” Hughes said. “He changes the game defensively in centerfield by the jumps he gets and the way he can track the ball down. He struggled early on his freshman year, which is expected from a young player who’s never played high school ball, but it was really good for him in the end. He learned a lot about himself and how to handle failure in the game of baseball. It’s going to be fun to watch Wyatt compete again this year.”
Michel, a junior infielder, was an all-conference pick after hitting .336 with 26 RBI and 16 doubles. He also stole 17 bases.
“Rylan Michel is a very athletic, aggressive baseball player,” Hughes said. “He impacts the game with his speed and his awareness on the bases. He has some very good pop to the pull side.”
An all-conference catcher, Edwards drove in 41 runs, hit five home runs and batted .340 last year.
“He has a great understanding of the strike zone and which pitches he hits well,” Hughes added. “Jack has some of the best bat speed and power in the area.”
Grant, a senior infielder, is coming off an all-conference and all-district season that saw him steal 17 bases, hit .383, drive in 32 runs and score 30 times.
“Tanner Grant had a really good year for us last year,” Hughes said. “He has great bat-to-ball skills and we expect his power numbers to make a jump this year.”
Senior Ryan Buckner and sophomore Caden Cloud are ready for expanded roles after cracking the Nixa lineup last spring, while Parkview transfer Gehrig Eoff (catcher/outfielder), Collin Ussery (senior infielder) and Broden Mabe (junior infielder) will all be battling for spots in the lineup.
“We will have good team speed this year,” Hughes said. “I also think we could have nine guys in the lineup who could hit the ball out of the park at any time. One thing that is really going to make a difference this year is our depth offensively. We have a lot of guys who can hit and it’s going to be fun to watch them compete for at bats.”
The Eagles will travel to U.S. Ballpark in Ozark for a March 12 jamboree against Logan-Rogersville and the Tigers. Their regular-season and home opener is scheduled for March 17 against Verdigris (Oklahoma), while their first Central Ozark Conference game is April 6 at Branson.
“My hope every year is that people say our teams play extremely hard and compete every pitch,” Hughes said. “We want to be known as a team that puts a ton of pressure on people by the way we play the game and how fast we play. We will respect the umpires, respect our opponents and respect the game of baseball by the way we approach it every day.”
