The Prep varsity baseball squad is coming off an exceptional 2016 season. Looking towards a fast-approaching 2017 season, Coach Pat Mooney hopes to prepare the players new to Prep baseball for the high expectations of Prep baseball excellence.

According to Mooney, “the senior leadership is kind of deceiving. We only have 5 seniors total. Culliver and Steier give us a lot of big game experience.”

Mooney noted that depth is not an immediate concern for his team. Instead, he is more focused on developing  a strong starting lineup. Senior leadership will be critical for this team’s success.

Josh Culliver, a senior pitcher and Minnesota commit said, “I think we can win state, because we’re a huge underdog because of all the guys we lost last year, so I think some teams might sleep on us a little bit and not think about us come state tourney time.”

Culliver, a senior playing his third year of varsity baseball this season, hopes to find a good way to get wins early in the season by help at the pitcher’s mound.

Tommy Steier, another senior and pitcher for the Junior Jays, said, “my personal goals for the year are to not have any loses on the year, to not blow a save, and to lead our team to another state championship.”

Steier, a UNO commit, believes that a deep pitching staff, led by Culliver and junior Dylan Phillips, in addition to a strong defense will be able to lead the team to another state title game.

The Junior Jays are ranked third in the Omaha World Herald’s preseason rankings, but that won’t stop the team from dreaming big. Hopes for this season are high and despite a dominant last season, the Junior Jays may be able to fly under the radar all the way to reclaim their state title.