By FRED KRONER
Sports fans rarely need a reason to reminisce and regale, or to recall and rejoice about memories and highlights from the past.
That is never truer than now as we pass the 25-year mark of a new century.
With that thought in mind, the Mahomet Daily presents – over the next several weeks – a look at quarter-century teams for each of Mahomet-Seymour’s 20 high school varsity athletic programs.
The honor squads will be presented alphabetically, beginning today with baseball.
I first got involved with the selection of All-Area and All-State teams for The News-Gazette 44 years ago. Part of the job also included choosing All-Decade teams.
Experience in sorting through the possible candidates has taught me one important lesson: there is not a magical formula for settling on the picks. It is not an exact science.
You start by gathering as much information as possible, then evaluating the facts before finalizing the team.
One point is universal, no matter the year, no matter how many athletes are chosen for the honor team: There are always additional individuals who are deserving and worthy.
This is especially true when reviewing accomplishments for a 2 ½-decade span. In every sport, a case can be made for many more athletes than we could fit into the final list.
Adding to the difficulty in naming these teams is the inconsistent availability of data and statistics to aid in the selections. For some years, there is a plethora of information. In other years, there is hardly anything.
There are challenges in every endeavor, and we have made every effort to fairly consider all of the viable candidates. We expect there will be some disagreements, but isn’t that one of the appeals of sports: arguing about whether this player or that player is superior or had a greater impact?
While many sources were considered, notably statistics, newspaper highlights and school record books, we intentionally bypassed one possible area of assistance.
We did not consult coaches – current or past – seeking their input. The reasoning is simple. It’s not fair to ask them to rank one player they coached above – or below – another player they coached. Not only were coaches not consulted, but they also have not received any advance notice of the final choices.
Without further ado, we will jump into the first Mahomet-Seymour Quarter-Century team, the baseball list. As will be the pattern throughout this series, players will be listed alphabetically.
GAVIN BAILEY, Class of 2025, OF. News-Gazette All-Area first-teamer as a junior when he also earned honors as an Illinois Baseball Coaches Association Class 3A All-Stater, Sparked Bulldogs to their first sectional crown in more than two decades, batting .421 with nine home runs, 15 stolen bases and 47 RBI. As a senior, hit .315 with one home run, seven stolen bases and 19 RBI.
BROOKS COETZEE, 2018, OF. Notre Dame recruit was M-S’ first All-State selection by the Illinois Baseball Coaches Association as a senior. Was All-Area first-teamer as both a senior and a junior. All-Area second-teamer as a sophomore. Hit .475 as a senior (38 for 80). In four years on varsity, batted a combined .375 (128 for 341) with 15 home runs and 43 stolen bases.
RYAN DALLAS, 2000, INF. Hit .500 as a senior (57 for 114) as a senior and was an All-Area first-teamer. School-record-holder for hits in a season (57) and was a catalyst on an M-S team that reached the state quarterfinals.
CULLY DAY, 2014, OF. Two-time All-Area first-teamer had a cumulative .386 average (113 for 293) during his four years. Hit .436 as a senior. As a junior, hit .387.All-Area second-teamer as a sophomore.
JOEL GHER, 2006, C/OF. All-Area first-teamer as a senior and All-Area second-teamer as a junior. Hit .500 as a junior (50 for 100) with eight homers and 43 RBI. As a senior, hit .387 with 38 RBI.
CARTER JOHNSON, 2023, C. All-Area first-teamer as a senior and All-Area second-teamer as a junior. Second on school’s all-time season leaders’ list with 54 RBI as a senior, when he hit .414 (46 for 111) with 20 stolen bases and 17 extra-base hits. As a junior, hit .433 (45 for 104) with 13 extra-base hits, six stolen bases and 32 RBI.
JOE KENNEY, 2015. SS/3B. Four-time All-Area first-teamer compiled a cumulative average of .401 (141 for 352) and swatted 20 home runs. Hit .444 as a senior.
TOM KENNEY, 2016, OF. Two-time All-Area first-teamer was also a second-teamer as a sophomore. Owns school records for career hits (153) and ranks second for hits in a season (55). Hit .486 for his final three years (153 for 315) with 11 home runs.
BRANNON KWIATKOWSKI, 2010, OF. All-Area first-teamer as a senior had just eight varsity at-bats until senior year, when he hit .462 (49 for 106) and hammered 16 home runs and drove in 58 runs. Still holds school records for season homers (16) and season RBI (58). Area Player of the Year as a senior.
MASON ORTON, 2025. LHP. All-Area first-teamer as a senior and second-teamer as a junior. In his prep career, had an 18-1 record with 238 strikeouts in 140 2/3 innings and 1.85 ERA. As a senior, was 6-0 with an ERA of 1.67 and 85 strikeouts in 42 innings. Also, batted .366 (30 for 82) with six doubles, two triples and nine stolen bases as a senior. As a junior, was 6-0 with an ERA of 1.79 and 84 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings.
JOSH RAYMOND, 2010, 1B. All-Area second-teamer as a senior. In his final two years, hit .460 (93 for 202) with 17 homers and 83 RBI. Hit .500 as a junior. Slammed 10 home runs as a senior.
BODIE REEDER, 2005, INF/P. All-Area first-teamer as a junior and All-Area second-teamer as both a senior and a sophomore. Hit .371 (146 for 394) with 120 RBI for his four years on varsity. Hit 16 career home runs.
ALEX SMITH, 2011, C. Four-year starter was two-time All-Area first-teamer who had a .361 career batting average (121 for 335). Had 135 runs scored, 66 stolen bases and 15 homers as a Bulldog. As a senior, hit .353 and stole 17 bases.
ADAM TOCK, 2005, RHP. All-Area first-teamer as a senior. Established still-standing season mark for wins (12) and compiled 1.39 ERA as a senior in 80 2/3 innings.
JORDAN VELDMAN, 2019, C/INF. All-Area first-teamer hit .447 as a senior with three homers and 19 RBI. Hit .357 as a junior. Had a .369 career batting average and 23 stolen bases.
BLAKE WOLTERS, 2023, RHP. Three-time All-Area first-teamer and two-time Area Player of the Year. Second-round Major League Draft pick (Kansas City Royals) set M-S season record for strikeouts (115). As a senior, fanned 108 hitters in 48 2/3 innings. Was 7-1 with an ERA of 0.43. As a junior, was 10-0 with an ERA of 0.24 and 115 strikeouts in 58 2/3 innings. Two-time All-State pick by the Illinois Baseball Coaches Association. In his career, 22-3 record with a 1.16 ERA and 261 strikeouts in 139 1/3 innings. In his last two seasons, covering 21 games, allowed five earned runs in 107 1/3 innings, striking out 223, walking 30 and yielding 36 total hits. As a hitter, had a career batting average of .439 (129 for 294) with 16 home runs, 53 stolen bases and a school-record 21 doubles in a season.
NEIL WRIGHT, 2007, OF. Area Player of the Year hit .532 (50 for 94) as a senior with six homers, 39 RBI and 13 stolen bases. In his final two years, hit .500 (104 for 208). Was also the winning pitcher in 20 games during his final three years.
JASON ZIEGLER, 2011, LHP. Area Player of Year as senior and an All-Area second-teamer as a junior. As a senior, fanned 107 in 62 innings and had a 1.05 ERA. He had a 6-5 record as a senior. As a junior, struck out 108 batters in 62 2/3 innings and a 2.79 ERA. In three years, had a cumulative 18-11 record with 277 strikeouts in 180 1/3 innings and 2.37 ERA. Also a dangerous hitter, pounding 21 homers, driving in 89 runs and batting .405 (100 for 247) in his final three seasons. As a senior, he hit .432 with nine homers and 37 RBI.
