Matthew Legere is a Master’s Student at ASU Cronkite School of Journalism assigned to cover Hamilton High School for AZPreps365.com

CHANDLER — The 2021 season came to a crashing halt for one of Arizona’s top-ranked baseball teams, Hamilton. The Huskies were eliminated from the 6A state semifinals as the result of a 10-strikeout, complete-game performance by Alhambra ace Daniel Avitia. The 6’3” 190-pound righthander was later selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 19th round of the 2021 MLB draft.

With a new season on the horizon and redemption fully on their minds, there is a lot to be excited about for the Huskies. They will play their season opener at Corona del Sol on Tuesday at 3:45 p.m. 

The Huskies are managed by Mike Woods. The 6A Premier Region Coach of the Year the past two years has been at the helm of the school's varsity baseball program since its inaugural season in 1999. Since then, Woods has led the team to seven state championship titles and three other appearances—no other baseball coach at the 6A level has approached this level of distinction in this era.

“Make no mistake about it, we're good because we have good players,” Woods said. “It's nothing that I did — it's what everybody has done. We've had really good players for 20 years now and we know that if we can get the guys to buy into the team concept then that’s going to make us really hard to beat.” 

Junior-duo Roch Cholowsky (No. 13) and Cooper Brass (No.3) get plenty of reps turning two up the middle during a preseason scrimmage for the Huskies. (Matthew Legere Photo/ AZPreps365)

On the field, the Huskies are led by a battle-tested group of upperclassmen who are no strangers to the bright lights and high-pressure situations. With experience competing for Area Code, Perfect Game, USA Baseball, and a 6A State Championship in 2019, these Huskies players certainly know a thing or two about how to compete at the highest level.

The Huskies, ranked No. 5 on Perfect Games High School Preseason Top 50, features three of the top 10 players in PBR Arizona’s Class of 2022 Rankings: No. 6 Logan Saloman (committed to Arizona State), No. 3 Kole Klecker (TCU), and No. 1 Gavin Turley (Oregon St.).

Turley batted .365 and with five home runs for the Huskies in 2021. Klecker, a righty pitcher,  was dominant with 5-0 record and a 1.80 ERA. Saloman, another right-handed thrower,  finished with a 3-1 record and a 3.10 ERA.

Other key contributors from the senior class include outfielders Prince DeBoskie and Tanner Holland, who hit .326 and .316, respectively; catcher Andrew Feery; infielder Brady Figueroa; and pitchers Jeremy Jones, and Jackson Smith, the latter a southpaw. 

“This is a dangerous team,” Turley said. “It's one of the deepest it's ever been and there's no real holes in my opinion. We're a competitive group and we’re going to be as legit as it gets.”

Adding to the depth of the senior class is an equally as motivated and talented junior class, featuring four of the top 10 players in PBR Arizona’s Class of 2023 Rankings: No. 10 Zach Wadas (TCU), No. 8 Joshua Tiedemann (TCU), No. 5 Ryan Kucherak (Baylor), and No. 1 Roch Cholowsky (UCLA).

Cholowsky hit .333 with four home runs last season as a sophomore. Tiedemann, the reigning 6A Premier Player of the Year, finished with a .423 AVG, 22 RBIs, 23 runs scored, and a 5-0 record on the mound.

“The rankings don’t really matter to us,” Cholowsky said. “It's just the expectation; and, I mean, it's nothing that we can't live up to. We have the guys and the coaching to go all the way this year. We're just trying to win a ring.”

Head coach Mike Woods is sure to make it a major point of emphasis that “opinions aren't what matters, winning ballgames is what matters.” (Matthew Legere Photo/ AZPreps365)

“Nothing hurts more than losing in last year's semifinals knowing how talented a team that we had,” Cholowsky continued. “Fortunately, we have a lot of guys returning to the team this year — guys that felt the same thing that I did — and that’s going to play a big part in getting us back and even further than we did last year.”

Other key contributors from the junior class includes infielder Cooper Brass, outfielder Logan Krei, utility infielder Jeter Mauzey (New Mexico State) and pitchers Carson Johnson (Hawaii), Rohan Lettow and Will Shelor (Arizona).

Along with their regular season schedule, the Huskies will also be competing in the 2022 Boras Baseball Classic of Arizona and USA Baseball’s National High School Invitational, where they will gain additional experience and exposure competing against top 25 nationally ranked opponents such as No. 1 Orange Lutheran (Calif.), No. 7 Bishop Gorman (Nev.), No. 15 Huntington Beach (Calif.), and No. 16 Chaparral (Ariz.).

“We're ready to play,” Woods said. “We feel good about where we are. But I mean, you just never know until you get out there for real, you know?”