Who should be Missouri high school Baseball Player of the Week? Vote for the state's best performer (05/12/25)

We've highlighted 20 of the state's top high school baseball athletes from last week, now we're asking you to read up on each and vote for who you think had the best performance

Levi Payton | May 12, 2025

Who should be Missouri High School On SI Baseball Player of the Week? / High School On SI

Congrats to Hayden Bowers, of Cape Central, who won the voting in last week’s Missouri High School On SI's Baseball Athlete of the Week poll after getting 49.78% of the overall vote. He went 3-for-3 with 6 RBI and three stolen bases in a 14-6 win over Sikeston.

While pitching has dominated some of our previous polls, this week is filled with walk-off winners and two-way stars. Several of the state's top teams are also featured this week, while a couple of familiar faces return to the list for the second time this season.

We’ve added captions on each of the candidates. Read up on how their week went and be sure to cast your vote for who you believe had the best week. You may vote as many times as you like. Voting ends Sunday, May 18 at 11:59 p.m. Central time.

Disclaimer: Voting polls are intended to be a fun way to create fan engagement and express support for your favorite high school athletes and teams. Unless expressly noted, there are no awards for winning the voting. Our primary focus is to highlight the abilities and accomplishments of all the athletes and teams included in our poll. You may vote as many times as you'd like and are encouraged to share our polls with others.

Missouri High School On SI Baseball Player of the Week candidates (05/12/25)

Blake Coleman, DeSoto

Coleman had a monster performance in a 1-0 win over Festus on Friday. The junior went 2-for-4 with a triple at the plate but he was even better on the mound, firing a two-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts and two walks in seven innings to earn the win.

Jack Cowling, North Point

Despite starting on the mound and getting saddled with a no-decision despite pitching five strong innings, Cowling still got the win for North Point on Tuesday. After leaving the mound with a 5-2 lead, Cowling was forced to watch Fort Zumwalt North erase a 6-2 deficit, and his prospective win, with four runs in the top of the seventh. Still in the game for his bat, Cowling stepped to the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh and crushed a 2-run, walk-off homer for an 8-6 win. He finished 2-for-4 with that home run, 2 RBI and a run at the plate while allowing a pair of unearned runs on three hits with seven strikeouts in five innings.

Chase Cradick, Howell

Batting eighth and playing left field for Howell against Webster Groves on Saturday, Cradick made a crater in the scoreboard. The junior went 4-for-4 at the plate with an inside-the-park home run, 6 RBI and scored two runs in a 9-0 victory. He drove in the game’s first runs with a 2-run single in the top of the second and scored the third of four runs later in the inning, added an RBI single in the third to make it 5-0, hit a 2-run inside-the-park home run in the sixth to make it 7-0, then drove in a run on an infield single in the seventh.

Cohen Epler, Webb City

The Seneca Indians have a potent offense this season, but Epler handed them a stinker on Saturday. Chasing their sixth win in seven games, the Cardinals handed the ball to Epler, and the senior responded by firing a no-hitter. He carved up the Indians on 93 pitches, throwing 61 strikes, striking out seven and walking two batters in seven innings as the Cardinals picked up their 16th win.

Nate Friedrich, Pattonville

One of two Pirates on this list, Friedrich had masterful outing on Tuesday. Starting on the bump in the first game of a two-game set against Parkway North, Friedrich brough his best stuff to the mound was dominant. the senior fired a 2-hit shutout, striking out 10 and walking three batters in a 4-0 victory.

John Haberkorn, Eureka

Haberkorn impacted the outcome of three games for Eureka last week. He went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI in a 4-3 win over Lindbergh on Tuesday, then went 3-for-4 with two doubles, 4 RBI and scored a run in a 12-0 win against Marquette on Friday. He capped the week by starting and pitching six strong innings to earn the win in a 6-3 victory against Francis Howell Central on Saturday, allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts and no walks in six strong innings.

Levi Hilton, Willard

In a battle of Springfield-area Tigers last Monday, Hilton earned his stripes with a dominant showing on the mound. He seemingly had everything in his repertoire working as he dazzled Republic, picking up the win on the mound and a 7-0 victory for his team. In seven innings of work he limited Republic to three hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks.

Kaleb Hoss, St. Francis Borgia

Hoss was the big man on campus Thursday against Union. With the Knights desperately needing someone to come through in the clutch, Hoss did. After Union tied the game 3-3 on an error with two outs in the top of the seventh, Hoss was called to the mound with two outs and the go-ahead run at third and escaped the jam. After striking out two in a 1-2-3 eighth, Hoss had another clutch moment. With one out and a runner at first in the bottom of the eighth, he lined a walk-off double into deep center to give the Knights a 4-3 win and making Hoss the winning pitcher.

Cole Koeberl, Jackson

The talented southpaw pitched twice last week, on Monday and Saturday, and was dominant both times out, picking up two wins in the process as Jackson went 4-1 on the week. In a 2-1 victory in eight innings on Monday against Cape Central, Koeberl dominated on the mound with seven shutout innings, allowing just two hits with 12 strikeouts and two walks. Jackson scored a run in the top of the eighth and Carter Shipman closed it out for the save. The senior started the nightcap of a doubleheader on Saturday against Graves County and picked up the win after pitching 4.2 scoreless innings, allowing just one hit with a strikeout in a 10-0 win in five innings.

Mason Lee, Pattonville

The Pirates dropped anchor on Hazelwood West on Monday and picked up an 8-1 victory behind Lee’s strong performance. He started on the mound and earned the win with six dominant innings, allowing an unearned run on one hit with 15 strikeouts and one walk. He also contributed two hits from the leadoff spot and had 2 RBI and scored a run.

Rylan Mills, Oran

The Eagles (15-1) have been beating up on teams all season and last week was no different. Mills had another big week, or big inning – depending how you look at it. On Wednesday against Sikeston, Oran scored 17 runs in the first inning and cruised to a 17-1 victory in three innings. Mills will be able to brag about what he did in that game from now on, as the senior went 3-for-3 with two home runs, including a grand slam, and 7 RBI in the first inning. He hit a 2-run homer on the second pitch he saw in his first at-bat to make it 2-0, then unloaded on a 3-1 pitch and hit a grand slam with one out in his second trip to the plate to make it 10-0 before chipping in an RBI single later in the inning with two outs to make it 16-0. He finished 3-for-4 with 7 RBI and scored two runs.

Landon Montgomery, West Plains

Hillcrest pitcher Jackson Miller was dominant against the Zizzers, holding them to just three hits in seven innings on Tuesday. But West Plains’ starter Landon Montgomery was even better. The junior right hander’s response was to throw a no-hitter on just 68 pitches as West Plains pulled out a 1-0 victory in seven innings. Oddly enough, Montgomery threw a staggering 54 of his 68 pitches for strikes, despite walking the first batter he faced in the game. That turned out to be the only blemish that kept him from a perfect game, as he gladly settled for the no-no with seven strikeouts.

Jack Passan, Pembroke Hill

Passan is taking his second turn as POTW candidate this season. The last time he got elected for his prowess on the mound. This week, it’s his bat that lands him among the state’s top performers. Passan swatted .600 last week, going 6-for-10 in three victories with four doubles, 4 RBI and two runs scored. He went 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and scored a run in Monday’s 6-4 win over Summit Christian; went 3-for-4 with two doubles and 2 RBI in a 9-8 thriller on Tuesday against Summit Christian; and closed out the week going 1-for-3 with a double, RBI and scored a run in a 4-3 walk-off win against Warrensburg.

Jordan Schneider, Parkway South

You could say his direct contribution to all four of Parkway South’s runs were the key in the Patriots’ 4-2 win on Monday over Lindbergh. But one could also argue most of the 74 pitches he threw were just as important. Batting second in the lineup and starting on the mound, Schneider went 3-for-4 at the plate, including a 3-run triple with one in the top of the fourth inning to give the Patriots a 4-1 lead. He made sure the lead stuck, as he went the distance, allowing one earned run on five hits with three strikeouts in seven innings.

Wyatt Schneider, Rockwood Summit

Schneider had a big game as a two-way threat in a 13-2 blowout against Oakville on Friday. Pitching and batting second for the Falcons, Schneider started on the mound and picked up the win, pitching four innings in the shortened game, allowing one unearned run on one hit with eight strikeouts and two walks. He also had a nice day at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run, double, a walk, 2 RBI and scored a pair of runs.

Eli Sitzer, Pembroke Hill

The veteran outfielder stepped up in a big way for the Raiders in three nailbiters last week. Batting second in the lineup, he went 3-for-3 with a double, triple, RBI, two runs scored, walked twice and stole a base in a 6-4 win over Summit Christian on Monday. He pillaged Summit Christian again on Tuesday with three more hits, including another triple, 4 RBI, scored two runs and delivered a walk-off single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh in a 9-8 win. He smacked a home run in Saturday’s 4-3 walk-off victory over Warrensburg. Sitzer batted .636 (7-for-11) with a double, two triples a home run, 6 RBI, stole one base and scored five runs in those games.

Zach Van Hook, Vianney

He had a hit in all five games for Vianney last week as the Golden Griffins went 4-1. An outfielder and pitcher for the Golden Griffins, Van Hook batted .588 across five games (10-for-17) with a double, triple, 9 RBI and scored six runs. He also started on the mound in a 10-0 win against Lutheran South and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings, allowing one hit with five strikeouts and one walk.

Braiden VanLue, East Newton

VanLue had an incredible game for the Patriots against a tough Seneca team on Wednesday. Batting leadoff and playing shortstop, VanLue went 5-for-6 at the plate with a double, a triple, 2 RBI and scored two runs. He finished a home run shy of the cycle, but he gladly traded that for the walk-off single he hit with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to give the Patriots a 6-5 victory.

Asher Waitkus, Westminster Christian

Waitkus is another two-way star who impacted a win with both his arm and his bat last week. Starting on the mound against MICDS on Friday and batting third in the lineup, Waitkus punched a 2-run go-ahead single with two outs in the top of the fifth inning to make it 3-1. He made that lead stick as he got all but the final out of the game on the mound, earning the win after allowing one run on three hits with seven strikeouts and one walk in 6.2 strong innings.

Nick Weidler, Seckman

He was a doubles machine in a 12-6 win against St. Louis University (SLUH) on Friday. Batting cleanup and playing right field, Weidler went 4-for-5 at the plate with four doubles, 2 RBI, stole home and scored three runs. He had an RBI double in the first inning, doubled in the third and later scored by stealing home, had an RBI double and scored a run in the fourth and doubled and scored in the sixth.