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Jun. 10—A new era of summer baseball has arrived on the Palouse.
After years of operating as separate programs, the Pullman Posse, Whitman County Cougars and Palouse Patriots have merged under one banner, under the Palouse Patriots, and are uniting players from across the region into a three-tier American Legion baseball system.
The restructured format features three teams — Patriots AAA (19U), Patriots AA (17U) and Patriots A (16U) — with coaches not only focused on winning games but also developing young players for future varsity and collegiate opportunities.
Palouse Patriots AAA
The Patriots AAA squad is led by first-year coach Nate Clark.
During the spring, he spends his time coaching the Pullman junior varsity.
Clark called the Patriots a gritty team full of utility players who are able to play in multiple spots on the field.
"Cash McCann is a key returner," Clark said. "Will Denney is our starting shortstop. Both of those guys are just great. They're just baseball (guys), like live and breathe the game kind of guys, great kids to have in the dugout."
McCann, Denney and Carson Forar are three of the players who have made the Legion program "possible" for the past few years, Clark said.
The Patriots have an abundance of pitchers, including Brody Barnett, who is a tall lefty and was an all-district player as a sophomore, and Zachary Kroll, who can throw into the mid-80s.
Clark said it is important to create a fun and competitive environment for the players and with the help of assistant coaches Nate Elbracht and JD Peterson, they are accomplishing that.
Peterson and Elbracht both have experience playing college baseball and both played for Clark in the past.
They are a good example for the players to realize what they can become if they "grind at the college level," Clark said.
"There are people here on the Palouse that care about baseball, and we care about player development, and we can provide them opportunities to get them ready to play at the next level," the coach said.
Clark said the focus is on individual development and preparing players to play better at the next level in college or to play better for their varsity teams.
"I think mostly our goals are to build a program for the kids that helps them develop in a personal sense," Clark said. "Then develop some of those (physical) traits and then getting them in the weight room, and then most importantly, the goal for this year is to build that program up and provide value to them, so that they feel compelled to come back next year and continue to grow the organization. I think a great goal for us would be to go to State and compete at State."
Palouse Patriots AA
Nate Akesson is the headman for the Patriots AA team and spent last year as an assistant coach for the Whitman County Cougars.
"They're go-getters," Akesson said of the team. "We got guys who play multiple sports. We got some very athletic dudes."
Akesson said that hitting is the strength of the team, led by Ross Cofer and Will Hyatt.
"(Cofer) was starting varsity for Colfax, and he decided he wanted to play down on AA for us, and he's a big lefty, he looks like a grown man, he's 15 years old," Akesson said. "He's insane, he hits the ball hard, he throws the ball hard, he picks the ball up well, he just kind of does it all. We got Will Hyatt on the team; he's going to be a stud for us this year. He swings it well, he's the No. 1 hitter, shortstop. He's the No. 2 pitcher. He's just a dude who does it all. So that'll be fun to watch him develop this season."
Akesson said that he wants to see his group gain more confidence when they step on the field.
He said that physical development is important as well, but the mental side might be more important.
It will be critical for the Patriots to control the game in every aspect, not letting the speed of the game get to them and to take their time in the box, on the mound or in the field.
"Baseball is hard because it's all failure," Akesson said. "I mean, you make it to the Hall of Fame when you fail seven out of 10 times. So it's again a failure, and it's hard to teach these kids that you're going to fail. It's how you come back from failure. But that would kind of be the main thing that I want to see development-wise out of these guys is being able to bounce back."
Akesson said that the plan is to have everybody learn something from the season, and that there is always something to be learned from every experience. Joy in the game is important, too.
"I hope these guys have a ton of fun this year, they have a blast and look forward to next year," Akesson said. "That's kind of the main goal why we do all this. That's the reason I'm doing it. That's the reason why I know most of the kids are doing it, because it is just a lot of fun."
Palouse Patriots A
James Bledsoe Jr. is in his first year as the head coach of the Patriots A.
He has spent 10 years doing private baseball lessons.
"I was hired primarily to not really be an administrative role; it was more of a helping players develop, and everything like that," Bledsoe said. "So, wins and losses aren't necessarily what I'm going for. I'm looking at trying to make these kids better by the end of the summer. ... so it's just developing them. ... Some of them are just preparing for high school ball in general, and then some I'm trying to prepare for varsity ball."
Of key players, Bledsoe pointed out Toby Stewart, Keegan Caessens, Silas Nollmeyer, Carson Thomas, Markus Hauck, Cooper Wells and Brody Pfaff.
"Toby Stewart is an absolute stud, great attitude," Bledsoe said. "I saw him as a team leader from Day 1, and Keagan Caessens is going to be in that role too."
Bledsoe said that coaching the right attitude into his players is important for the Patriots.
He said that with the players so young, it is important to teach them that failure is going to happen often in baseball, and the biggest thing is to "flush it and move on."
"This is a game where the best of the best fail seven out of 10 times, so just taking things in stride and being able to flush it when you don't perform and not getting too heavy when you're doing well, so just trying to get to a stable place," Bledsoe said. "It's just trying to remind them it's going to be a long summer, a lot of games, a lot of innings to be played. You're gonna get another shot."
Finally, he said that the Patriots are a very fun group to be around.
"Just a lot of really, really nice kids," the coach said. "They really helped me rekindle my love for baseball. I didn't know how much I was missing it, and when I say all smiles, I don't mean like goofy and like slacking off and stuff like that. But in general, the team's demeanor is really good, all of the guys like each other, and their heads are held high right now."
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, [email protected] or on X @TrevorJunt.
Continue reading...
After years of operating as separate programs, the Pullman Posse, Whitman County Cougars and Palouse Patriots have merged under one banner, under the Palouse Patriots, and are uniting players from across the region into a three-tier American Legion baseball system.
The restructured format features three teams — Patriots AAA (19U), Patriots AA (17U) and Patriots A (16U) — with coaches not only focused on winning games but also developing young players for future varsity and collegiate opportunities.
Palouse Patriots AAA
The Patriots AAA squad is led by first-year coach Nate Clark.
During the spring, he spends his time coaching the Pullman junior varsity.
Clark called the Patriots a gritty team full of utility players who are able to play in multiple spots on the field.
"Cash McCann is a key returner," Clark said. "Will Denney is our starting shortstop. Both of those guys are just great. They're just baseball (guys), like live and breathe the game kind of guys, great kids to have in the dugout."
McCann, Denney and Carson Forar are three of the players who have made the Legion program "possible" for the past few years, Clark said.
The Patriots have an abundance of pitchers, including Brody Barnett, who is a tall lefty and was an all-district player as a sophomore, and Zachary Kroll, who can throw into the mid-80s.
Clark said it is important to create a fun and competitive environment for the players and with the help of assistant coaches Nate Elbracht and JD Peterson, they are accomplishing that.
Peterson and Elbracht both have experience playing college baseball and both played for Clark in the past.
They are a good example for the players to realize what they can become if they "grind at the college level," Clark said.
"There are people here on the Palouse that care about baseball, and we care about player development, and we can provide them opportunities to get them ready to play at the next level," the coach said.
Clark said the focus is on individual development and preparing players to play better at the next level in college or to play better for their varsity teams.
"I think mostly our goals are to build a program for the kids that helps them develop in a personal sense," Clark said. "Then develop some of those (physical) traits and then getting them in the weight room, and then most importantly, the goal for this year is to build that program up and provide value to them, so that they feel compelled to come back next year and continue to grow the organization. I think a great goal for us would be to go to State and compete at State."
Palouse Patriots AA
Nate Akesson is the headman for the Patriots AA team and spent last year as an assistant coach for the Whitman County Cougars.
"They're go-getters," Akesson said of the team. "We got guys who play multiple sports. We got some very athletic dudes."
Akesson said that hitting is the strength of the team, led by Ross Cofer and Will Hyatt.
"(Cofer) was starting varsity for Colfax, and he decided he wanted to play down on AA for us, and he's a big lefty, he looks like a grown man, he's 15 years old," Akesson said. "He's insane, he hits the ball hard, he throws the ball hard, he picks the ball up well, he just kind of does it all. We got Will Hyatt on the team; he's going to be a stud for us this year. He swings it well, he's the No. 1 hitter, shortstop. He's the No. 2 pitcher. He's just a dude who does it all. So that'll be fun to watch him develop this season."
Akesson said that he wants to see his group gain more confidence when they step on the field.
He said that physical development is important as well, but the mental side might be more important.
It will be critical for the Patriots to control the game in every aspect, not letting the speed of the game get to them and to take their time in the box, on the mound or in the field.
"Baseball is hard because it's all failure," Akesson said. "I mean, you make it to the Hall of Fame when you fail seven out of 10 times. So it's again a failure, and it's hard to teach these kids that you're going to fail. It's how you come back from failure. But that would kind of be the main thing that I want to see development-wise out of these guys is being able to bounce back."
Akesson said that the plan is to have everybody learn something from the season, and that there is always something to be learned from every experience. Joy in the game is important, too.
"I hope these guys have a ton of fun this year, they have a blast and look forward to next year," Akesson said. "That's kind of the main goal why we do all this. That's the reason I'm doing it. That's the reason why I know most of the kids are doing it, because it is just a lot of fun."
Palouse Patriots A
James Bledsoe Jr. is in his first year as the head coach of the Patriots A.
He has spent 10 years doing private baseball lessons.
"I was hired primarily to not really be an administrative role; it was more of a helping players develop, and everything like that," Bledsoe said. "So, wins and losses aren't necessarily what I'm going for. I'm looking at trying to make these kids better by the end of the summer. ... so it's just developing them. ... Some of them are just preparing for high school ball in general, and then some I'm trying to prepare for varsity ball."
Of key players, Bledsoe pointed out Toby Stewart, Keegan Caessens, Silas Nollmeyer, Carson Thomas, Markus Hauck, Cooper Wells and Brody Pfaff.
"Toby Stewart is an absolute stud, great attitude," Bledsoe said. "I saw him as a team leader from Day 1, and Keagan Caessens is going to be in that role too."
Bledsoe said that coaching the right attitude into his players is important for the Patriots.
He said that with the players so young, it is important to teach them that failure is going to happen often in baseball, and the biggest thing is to "flush it and move on."
"This is a game where the best of the best fail seven out of 10 times, so just taking things in stride and being able to flush it when you don't perform and not getting too heavy when you're doing well, so just trying to get to a stable place," Bledsoe said. "It's just trying to remind them it's going to be a long summer, a lot of games, a lot of innings to be played. You're gonna get another shot."
Finally, he said that the Patriots are a very fun group to be around.
"Just a lot of really, really nice kids," the coach said. "They really helped me rekindle my love for baseball. I didn't know how much I was missing it, and when I say all smiles, I don't mean like goofy and like slacking off and stuff like that. But in general, the team's demeanor is really good, all of the guys like each other, and their heads are held high right now."
Junt can be reached at 208-848-2258, [email protected] or on X @TrevorJunt.
Continue reading...
