Hamilton shortstop Boston Kellner, a Louisville commit, brings his glove, senior leadership and power at the plate to the defending state champions. (Photo courtesy of Hamilton High School)
With several key players departing, Hamilton High School’s baseball aims to replicate past successes despite the challenges of rebuilding. (Photo courtesy of Hamilton High School)
CHANDLER – In a sport defined by failure, the Hamilton High School baseball team hasn’t had to overcome much of it. Coming off back-to-back 6A state championships, the Huskies are looking for their third straight title as the season gets underway.
The quest for a three-peat isn’t without turnover. The Huskies lost their top four players with the most plate appearances from the previous season, as well as their three wins leaders on the pitching side.
Roch Cholowsky, who led the 2023 team in plate appearances, hits, runs and home runs with a .466 average, is now playing at UCLA. Ryan Kucherak plays for LSU, while Zach Wadas is at TCU. Josh Tiedemann, also a TCU commit, forwent college after hearing his name called by the New York Yankees in the 2023 MLB draft.
The Huskies might have lost a lot of talent, but in their 27 years under coach Mike Woods, it’s something the program is used to at this point.
Hamilton infielder and pitcher JB Feery helps anchor the defense with his arm at second base and on the mound. (Photo courtesy of Hamilton High School)
The legendary Arizona baseball coach, who was inducted into the National High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame this year, has coached at the school since it opened in 1998. In that time, the school has won nine state championships, including at least two titles in three separate decades, and has seen five players make it to the MLB, including former NL MVP Cody Bellinger.
The turnover is all a part of the process for Woods.
“That’s been the story here for a long time,” Woods said. “Good guys leave, new kids come in and they take over … somebody usually steps up and we keep rolling.”
Hamilton has played just five games so far this season, and is off to a 3-2 start. Similar to the mantra of teams past, it is a next-man-up mentality for the Huskies.
“I think it’s really important, something I take a lot of pride in is trying to hold my teammates accountable,” said senior first baseman Liam Wilson. “Just showing how we do things at Hamilton.”
Wilson played a prominent role in both of the previous state championships as an underclassman. He led all non-seniors in plate appearances last season, finished second on the team in home runs with six, and was third in RBIs with 33. He now steps into the leadership role left by previous Hamilton stars.
After Hamilton lost its best three pitchers from last season, Cade Burghardt & Co. look to fill the void in pursuit of a third straight state title. (Photo courtesy of Hamilton High School)
The Huskies are starting several underclassmen, Woods said. They can always rely on the next man up, but it will take time to make up for the experience they lost. That is where current upperclassmen, such as Wilson and senior pitcher AJ Diaz, come in.
“You got to be there for them like the past leaders were there for me,” Diaz said. “Just building up the confidence … getting that winning feeling back with everybody.”
Diaz had the third most appearances and the most saves on last year’s team, and with four of the other top five leading pitchers gone, he has one of the most important roles on the team.
The Huskies may not have the same experience or talent as they’ve rocked in previous years, and even though they are off to a good start, they still believe it could take some time to build a team to reach that championship level. But they are “enjoying the ride” for now, according to Woods, so that when they reach the end of the season, they will be more than ready.
“You’re always replacing somebody … so the process starts all over again,” Woods said. “We’ll have some bumps along the way, but it’s all part of high school baseball.”