While coming up with facts about the game in the Pocket City, Wirthwein focused mostly on Organized Baseball.
Doing that research showed that there was plenty of activity in the sport for those playing in the shadows.
Wirthwein knew that Evansville was represented in the Negro Southern League in the 1920’s and in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s.
“There’s got to be more,” says Wirthwein, an Evansville native who grew up attending games at Bosse Field and graduated from Harrison High School in 1972. “How did this all happen?
“Where did these players all come from? What are the roots of black baseball in Evansville?”
“I scoured newspapers, periodicals and anywhere I could find anything,” says Wirthwein. “There were a handful of really good black-owned newspapers in the period 1900 to 1960 that would cover things on a national basis.”
Researchers know that it is easy to get distracted when combing over old newspapers etc.
“The best thing about doing this research is literally everything I found was new to me,” says Wirthwein. “The rabbit holes bore fruit more often than not.
“Until this book, I don’t think anybody wrote it down.”
With some current events sprinkled in, the book features stories of teams and players — amateurs, semipros and professionals — from who hailed from the southwestern Indiana town on the Ohio River.
In “Black Ball In Evansville,” Wirthwein’s lays out the teams that played in town then he went through painstaking research on players who were born or reared in Evansville that played in the Negro Leagues.
That meant about 3,400 players and their statistics became a part of Major League history.
With the adoption, the MLB record for most victories by a 17-year-old is now credited to Evansville-born William “Steel Arm” Tyler, who won nine game with the 1925 Memphis Red Sox of the Negro National League.
The previous record for a 17-year-old was held by Hall of Famer Bob Feller with five wins for the 1936 Cleveland Indians.
Wirthwein traced the players who the Color Barrier in Evansville and in other minor leagues.
Ike Brown played his final professional season with the Evansville Triplets. He was the last Negro Leaguer to make it to the majors.
Purchased from the Kansas City Monarchs in 1961, Brown debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1969 and made his last MLB appearance in 1974 and was with Evansville as a player-coach that same season.
Retired from CNO Financial Group (formerly Conseco) since June 2019, Butler University graduate Wirthwein (1976 undergraduate Journalism degree and 1991 Master of Business Administration) has several ideas about what he could write about next — not necessarily baseball.
“The writing is the hardest part,” says Wirthwein. “The research is fun.”
Hayden Wynja’s career as a baseball pitcher has not gone in a straight line.
In fact, the lanky left-hander looked to be at the end of the line on more than one occasion.
But Wynja persisted through rough patches and finds himself preparing for his third year in the pros with the San Francisco Giants organization.
“All I ever wanted to do was play professional baseball,” says Wynja, 25. “It’s been a crazy, crazy, crazy journey. But it’s been a lot of fun.
“I’m very blessed. That’s for sure.”
A 2017 graduate of Heritage Christian High School in Indianapolis who helped the Dan Ambrose-coached Eagles win three IHSAA sectional titles was selected in the 30th round of the 2017 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Atlanta Braves but did not sign.
Wynja (pronounced Win-Yuh) red-shirted in his first year at Purdue University (2018) then hurled 11 2/3 innings over eight outings for the Boilermakers in 2019.
“I essentially got cut,” says Wynja.
During the COVID-19-shortened season of 2020, Wynja got into five games and logged 13 1/3 innings at Lincoln Trail College in Robinson, Ill.
“I gave everything to the ARMory,” says Wynja who landed at Murray (Ky.) State University. “Murray State and the Florida Baseball ARMory are why I’m still playing baseball.”
With the Dan Skirka-coached MSU Racers, Wynja earned the Friday night starter job in 2022. He took the mound 15 times (14 starts) and went 6-4 with a 3.67 ERA, 86 strikeouts and 24 walks in 73 2/3 innings
Last off-season, Wynja wrote the 70-page paper he needed to complete a Communications degree from Murray State.
Signed by the Giants as a minor league free agent July 28, 2022, Wynja pitched in three contests and 3 1/3 innings for the the Orange team in the Arizona Complex League that season.
In 2023 with the Low Class-A San Jose (Calif.) Giants and Advanced-A Eugene (Ore.) Emeralds, Wynja made 29 mound appearances (16 starts) and went 7-6 with two saves, a 4.16 earned run average, 115 strikeouts and 38 walks in 97 1/3 innings. He fanned batters at a rate of 10.6 per nine innings.
“It was a super honor,” says Wynja, who worked in five games and went 1-0 with a 7.20 ERA, 16 strikeouts and nine walks in 10 innings. His K-per-9 rate with the Scottsdale Scorpions was 14.4.
Throwing from a high three-quarter arm angle, Wynja delivers a four-seam fastball that traveled at 90 to 94 mph and a hard slider that went 81 to 84 mph.
“That’s my swing-and-miss pitch,” says Wynja. “I’ve had a couple of hitters call it the ‘ghost ball.’ — you can’t quite see the spin.
“I execute my slider really well. I haven’t developed nearly what I will be. I’m not a polished product. I don’t go into outings trying to strike out guys ever. But I try to attack and get ahead in the count. My thought process is when it gets to 1-2 or 0-2, they’re mine every time. I have that much trust in my slider.
“I put people away quick.”
In 2023, he threw his change-up 4 percent of the time and is now working toward 15-percent usage.
It was also in the AFL that Wynja began diving into his release point.
At 8 feet, 2 inches his extension is one of the longest in baseball.
Wynja joined an exclusive club on May 13, 2023 when he threw an immaculate inning (nine pitches and nine strikes) against Lake Elsinore.
“That was crazy,” says Wynja. “That’s one of those things you never think about having.”
Beginning the season as San Jose’s closer, Wynja was moved to the starting rotation and it was in the final inning of one of his first starts that he went immaculate.
San Jose pitching coach Dan Runzler told Wynja to empty the tank and that’s what he did.
The goal-oriented Wynja only held one job before joining the Giants and that was as grocery store bagger for a few months in his early teens. As a minor leaguer he does not make lots of cash, but he manages and uses Airbnb while traveling to train.
“I’m getting paid for pitching,” says Wynja. “It’s hard to complain.”
One of Wynja’s goal this off-season is to put on some pounds.
The 6-foot-9 southpaw is currently tips the scales at 218 (up from 205 at season’s end).
“The idea is to get to up to 220 to 225,” says Wynja. “I heard that’s where (6-foot-10 Hall of Famer and lefty) Randy Johnson sat at.
“Putting on weight does a couple of things for me. It’ll provide me a lot of consistency with my delivery. I’ll stay strong and it’ll help my velo increase. As my weight goes up I’ll become a better pitcher.”
Wynja returned to Indianapolis in mid-November. After a couple weeks of rest, he trained at PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind., during the week with some weekend workouts at RoundTripper Sports Academy in Westfield, Ind. He started his throwing progression a couple of weeks ago.
“It’s great to be from Indiana and play baseball,” says Wynja. “We have a lot of resources.”
At PRP, Wynja got to observe and talk with big leaguers Tim Herrin and Bryan Hoeing. Both 6-foot-6, lefty Herrin is a Terre Haute (Ind.) South Vigo High School graduate and former Indiana University hurler now with the Cleveland Guardians and righty Hoeing is a Batesville (Ind.) High School alum who shined at the University of Louisville and is now with the Miami Marlins.
The day after Christmas, Wynja hit the road. The plan was to see his girlfriend in Atlanta and fly to New York to spend time with family while celebrating father Brad Wynja’s birthday (Hayden is the oldest sibling of two blended families and has a sister — Bella Wynja — who plays volleyball at Mercer University in Macon, Ga.).
After vacation, Wynja goes back to Atlanta and then heads to the Florida Baseball ARMory — something he did last winter — to ramp up for spring training in Scottsdale.
“I’ll be around a whole new set of big leaguers,” says Wynja. Among those is Seattle Mariners 6-foot-6 right-hander Logan Gilbert. “When I’m a big leaguer I hope to look like (Gilbert). We have similar builds. We move similar. We think about pitching in similar ways. I could pick his brain for hours and hours and hours.
“(FBA gives me a) great environment for me to buy in and really improve. I want to learn how big leaguers train in the off-season — how they eat, sleep, recover. I know I have one shot at this. I’m going to emulate these guys who are super-successful.
“You want to surround yourself with who you want to be or where you’re trying to go.”
Hayden Wynja’s immaculate inning. (San Jose Giants Video)
Peyton Gray has been mowing down batters on either side of the border.
Following a spring and summer season in which he was a 2023 American Association All-Star with the Franklin, Wis.-based Milwaukee Milkmen the right-handed pitcher finds himself back in the Mexican Pacific Winter League — this time with Algodoneros de Guasave (Guasave Cottoneers) — and he just recorded his circuit-leading 13th save for a first-place team at 26-14 through Nov. 29.
“Baseball’s very huge in Mexico,” says Gray. “There are a ton of fans. I enjoy it down here. It’s very winning-focused. They value wins and playing hard.”
The lifestyle, including the food, are different in Mexico than the U.S. but Gray sees the common denominaters.
“The way you have to look at it is that you’re still playing a kids’ game for a living,” says Gray. “You’ve got to just have fun with it. You may not speak the same language as the umpires or the fans, but it’s still baseball. I’m still pitching, the strike zone’s the same, the hitters are the same.
“It’s nice to play in a different country. I know it’s going to be great memories.”
Gray, a 6-foot-4, 235-pound right-hander, has made 21 mound appearances so far in 2023-24 and is 0-0 with a 0.00 earned run average (he’s allowed two unearned runs). In 21 innings, he has 33 strikeouts and seven walks. He averages 14.1 strikeouts per nine innings.
After a dozen days of summer training, the season opened in mid-October and runs until late December. The playoffs in January are three best-of-seven rounds. The league winner moves on to the 2024 Caribbean World Series Feb. 1-9 in Miami.
“I’m technically still a free agent,” says Gray. “I can still sign with a (Major League Baseball) club or Japan or Taiwan team.”
In Milwaukee in 2023, the 2014 graduate of Columbus (Ind.) East High School pitched in 37 games (all in relief) and went 1-2 with nine saves, a 1.38 ERA, 64 strikeouts and eight walks in 39 innings. His K/9 rate was 14.8. Gray turned 28 on June 2 and earned the save for the East in the American Assocation All-Star Game at Franklin Field on July 18.
“I gave that league all I had and posted some pretty good stats,” says Gray of the American Association. “I wasn’t really getting signed out of that league.”
He had also hurled for the Milkmen in 2020 and 2022 with stints in the Colorado Rockies (2018 and 2019) and Kansas City Royals (2021) systems.
Tommy John reconstructive elbow surgery came for Gray in August 2021. Cleared to play again in July 2022, he was released by the Royals and went back to independent ball with Milwaukee.
Gray pitched in seven games for the MPWL’s Yaquis de Obregon in 2022-23 and went 0-0 with a 7.11 ERA, six strikeouts and four walks in 6 1/3 innings.
“I wasn’t quite 100 percent again from my surgery but I wanted to get my foot in the door and the opportunity to play in Mexico,” says Gray. “(Guasuave) liked what they saw this summer and gave me a shot to come down and be the closer. I took it and ran with it.”
Flash forward to the present day and Gray is a tick up in velocity since the surgery and recovery.
“I’m a little better than I was,” says Gray. “I did tear my (Ulnar Collateral Ligament) on a single pitch. I don’t know if my elbow was messed up for awhile. I throw a little harder (with the four-seam fastball going from about 90 to 93 mph to 92 to 94 while almost touching 96) and my slider and change-up velocity has gone up.”
A relief pitcher throughput his pro career, Gray has noticed more resiliency since surgery which replaced his UCL with Palmaris Longus tendon taken from his right wrist.
“I’ve noticed that I’m able to bounce back a lot faster,” says Gray. “My recovery’s a lot shorter. I can throw more days a week.
“At first it’s hard to get conformable and really let it rip. Once you realize that — man — I’m 100 percent and mentally I’m super-confident in my arm. It’s healthy and I’m not going re-tear my UCL.”
Gray threw five times last week, including ends of a Nov. 20 doubleheader.
Rehab has shown Gray how to stay healthy with shoulder and mobility work between trips to the mound.
There’s another important part of his routine.
“I try to drink a lot of water,” says Gray. “That’s definitely going to help me recover, stay hydrated and have energy.”
After reporting the to field, he stretches, runs and plays catch. Around the third inning he ramps up his focus and begins getting his body ready. He walks out to the bullpen in the fifth inning and does his band and plyo ball work — things he has done while visiting PRP Baseball at Mojo Up Fieldhouse in Noblesville, Ind.
“It’s one of my favorite places to train,” says Gray. “I’m thankful for everything (PRP founder) Greg (Vogt) did for me (when I made my first velo jump in 2019).
“I still message those guys and ask them questions. They’re always there for me.”
Peyton and wife Samantha Gray — the Columbus East alum answers to Sam and her maiden name is Watters — were married in 2021. The couple resides in Fort Myers, Fla. Sam’s family has a vacation home in nearby Cape Coral.
This winter, she has been going back and forth to Mexico about two weeks at a time.
Gray pitched one season at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo (2015), one at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla. (2016) and two at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers (2017 and 2018).
“I still have a lot of college buddies down there which is nice,” says Gray. “It’s great weather and it’s nice to throw outside year-round.”
Peyton Gray. (Algodoneros de Guasave Image).
Peyton Gray. (Mexican Pacific Winter League Image).
“I think the most distinct moment in the debut was the fans booing (Diamondbacks manager) Torey (Lovullo) when he came to take me out of the game,” says Saalfrank. “The fans were awesome from beginning to end for me this season, so to be welcomed into that city with such open arms was such an awesome feeling.”
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound southpaw then went on to hurl in 11 games and 5 2/3 innings in the postseason between Oct. 4-31 including three appearances against the Texas Rangers in the World Series. He was 0-0 with a 3.18 ERA, two strikeouts and eight walks.
“Pitching in the World Series is something every boy dreams of as a kid,” says Saalfrank. “The same thing goes for being able to say that you played in the big leagues for even a single day. The fact that both of those happened this year is such an insane idea to think about.
“I am very blessed to have experienced both of those feats and they have definitely brought some of the coolest moments that I’ve had in life so far.”
Saalfrank, who was selected in the sixth round of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft by the Diamondbacks, averaged 12.8 strikeouts per nine innings in the minors.
In 23 games (all in relief) with the 2023 Triple-A Reno Aces, he went 4-2 with one save, a 2.35 ERA, 48 strikeouts and 15 walks in 30 2/3 innings.
Does the lefty think of yourself as a “strikeout” pitcher?
“Pitching in general is such a difficult feat, that trying to deem oneself as a certain type of pitcher is tough to do,” says Saalfrank. “For me personally, it’s just about getting as many outs as you can for the team. Some days that may be one, some days that may be six. Just trying to have a competitive mindset in each outing and trying to do your job to the best of your ability.
“If those outs come via strikeout — awesome — but the ones from ground balls count as outs, too.”
“I think the coaching staff throughout the D-backs organization is awesome,” says Saalfrank. “There are so many great minds, great people and great coaches that you get to meet throughout the organization. Just trying to listen and soak all of the information in, was more so the goal of being around such intelligent baseball minds.
“Each person I’ve encountered has played a role in one way or the other, but certainly all meaningful in their own respective way.”
Saalfrank, who turned 26 in August, has been spending the early part of the off-season in the Fort Wayne, Ind., area spending time with friends and family and plans to move back to Arizona after the holidays.
While recuperating and recovering from a long season, he gave his body a rest for a few days then got back into the gym.
“Off-season is where — in my opinion — you can separate yourself for the good or the bad, and I’d really prefer not to be on the bad end of things,” says Saalfrank. “I’m looking forward to spring training (in Scottsdale, Ariz.) and big league camp for my first time, just to be back around the guys, and to continue to learn and improve as a player.”
Saalfrank expects to report around Feb. 13 or 14.
Dean Lehrman — Saalfrank’s head coach at Heritage — goes into the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January.
Saalfrank has long appreciated the way the coach talked about respecting the game and playing for the name on the front of the shirt.
“It was such an honor to be able to text Coach Lehrman to congratulate him for the Hall of Fame induction,” says Lehrman. “Such a well-deserved honor, and such a deserving man that was able to impact me in my baseball career.
“I can’t say enough good things about Dean and I can’t say more on how great of a human that man is to every single person he meets.”
“The front office cares about specific things,” says Minta. “It’s my job to marry the relationship between our analysts and coaches and players. I make sure that things like pitch design and pitch usage are being carried out on the field.”
Minta educates so that those on the field are equipped and able to speak the “language of analytics.”
“Something we hold as a high standard for all our players and coaches is to be able to have those higher-level conversations because it accelerates our player development process,” says Minta. “We tell our players you don’t have to be crazy about this but at least be at a point where you can understand what we’re talking about.”
After playing four years and graduating from Taylor with a double major in Finance and Sport Management in 2015, Minta served an internship with the Kane County Cougars in Geneva, Ill., near where he was a prepster (he is a 2011 alum of Aurora Christian High School in Naperville, Ill.).
That was followed by a video scout job with what was then Baseball Info Solutions (now Sports Info Solutions) in Coplay, Pa., near Allentown in 2016.
“I watched MLB and some minor league games all day and charted them on software,” says Minta. “I was around people who were driven to work in professional baseball. It was a really fun year. There’s a really good network of people who used to work on BIS/SIS.
“It’s always a good thing to have on your resume — at least in my opinion.”
Minta spent the 2017 season with the Triple-A Oklahoma City Dodgers as a video associate then stayed on with the system’s player development department, moving to Arizona in January 2018. His job title morphed to his current position.
Minta spends this time of year going to the complex at Camelback Ranch in Glendale a few times a week aiding the six or seven players who choose to live in the area and work out there.
“It’s more relaxed (in the off-season),” says Minta.
Brent and wife Stephanie met in 2019 and were married in 2020. The couple lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., with young son Luke (born Dec. 17, 2022).
“It’s really cool,” says Brent Minta, who turns 31 on Dec. 11. “We were born six days and 30 years apart.”
Stephanie Minta has been a teacher at Scottsdale Christian Academy.
A dead period, which is a new part of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), goes from the Saturday before Thanksgiving and goes through Jan. 1. Contact between players and team personnel is not allowed during this period. Winter training resumes Jan. 2.
The off-season is also a time for Minta to look at minor league free agents and lay out player plans with ways they can improve and areas they can target leading up to spring training in February/March 2024.
“As a department we all get on the same page and talk about these things and I’ll end up putting it on paper to lay it out for our coaches and players and hold ourselves accountable,” says Minta.
Taylor has taken to spending J-Term in Arizona and training while playing its early games. To open the 2024 season, the Trojans plan to play Ottawa (Ariz.) Feb. 25-27.
Over the years, Minta has built a relationship with Taylor pitching coach Justin Barber while also seeing TU head coach Kyle Gould, who recruited Minta to the school in the NAIA’s Crossroads League.
“He’s very passionate,” says Minta of Gould, who is heading into his 20th season as head coach in 2023-24. “The four years that I was there we were going to work hard at practice and play baseball the right way. We were going to throw strikes. There was a high standard for what Taylor University baseball was from the minute I got there.
“It sharpened everybody.”
While he did not play much his freshman year at Taylor in 2012, Minta split his time between pitcher and catcher 2013-2015. He was starting catcher also used on the mound as a junior and mostly a pitcher as a senior.
“My faith has always been very important to me,” says Minta in explaining why he chose TU to extend his athletic and academic careers. “Somebody about the vibe and people I met at Taylor I just fell in love with it.
“I fell in love with the school and the baseball program separately.”
Right-hander Ryan Pepiot, a Westfield High School graduate who was selected by LA in the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Butler University in Indianapolis, pitched for the Dodgers at the big league level in 2022 and 2023.
All will be honored Friday, Jan. 19 during the 7 p.m. awards dinner at the IHSBCA State Clinic (Jan. 18-19) at Sheraton Keystone Crossing in Indianapolis. A red carpet show is slated at 5 p.m. with a 6 p.m. social hour on Jan. 19.
Tickets are available for the banquet through the IHSBCA website (www.ihsbca.org). Questions regarding the event can be directed to Hall of Fame Chairman Jeff McKeon at 317-445-9899 or jmckeon@plainfield.k12.in.us.
A graduate of Heritage High School in Monroeville and Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne, Lehrman was a four-year baseball letterman in high school and pitched four years in college.
He has been a head baseball coach of 45 years — nine at Woodlan and 36 at Heritage (current). His teams have won 685 with 14 Allen County Athletic Conference titles along with eight sectionals, three regionals and one semistate.
There’s been four Final Four appearances and a state runner-up finish (2007). He’s an eight-time ACAC Coach of the Year. He’s also been a District Coach of the Year and twice been on the All-Star coaching staff.
He also coached football for 41 years, including six as head coach (40-26).
Dean and wife Janice have three children — Camryn, Derek and Ryne — and four grandchildren. Dean retired from teaching math at Heritage High School in 2020.
Dave Ginder
(Fort Wayne Carroll — Active)
Ginder is a graduate of Carroll High School in Fort Wayne and Anderson University. He enters his 22nd season as Carroll head coach and has won 446 games against 154 losses.
During that time, his teams have captured seven Northeast Hoosier Conference crowns, 11 sectional titles, four regional titles, two semistate championships, and two state titles in 2010 and 2011.
Ginder has been named State COTY twice (2010 and 2011), NHC COTY (2003, 2011, and 2013), and District COTY in 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2022.
Dave is an active member in the IHSBCA serving as an assistant North All-Star coach in 2011 and Head Coach in 2022 and a member of the 4A Poll Panel for many years.
He is also involved with local baseball camps and clinics, along with being a member of the ABCA and Northeast Indiana Baseball Association where he was inducted into their HOF in 2022 and serves on the NEIBA board.
Ginder teaches Mathematics at Carroll High School. He resides in Fort Wayne with his wife, Kristen, a Registered Nurse at Parkview, and Certified Health Coach. They have three children — Langston (24), Drezdan (22) and Jantzyn (19).
Joe Decker
(Silver Creek — Retired)
Decker is a 1987 graduate of Silver Creek High School and a 1991 graduate of Hanover College.
He began his coaching career at Brown County High School in 1992 before moving to Silver Creek in 1996. He also was the head coach at Indiana University Southeast from 2003-2006.
He has amassed an overall head coaching record of 634-344 over his 30-year coaching career. At the high school level, he has an overall record of 553-256. His teams have won 16 conference championships (including a current 65 game winning streak in the Mid-Southern Conference), 12 sectional championships (six straight), four regional championships, two semistate championships and one state championship in his final game in 2023.
Decker has been named Conference Coach of the Year 16 times and District Coach of the Year twice. He has over 40 players go on to play at the next level, eight All-State players, six North-South All-Stars and four Academic All-State players.
He has served on numerous IHSBCA committees as well as serving as a coach on the North/South All-Star series at Indiana Wesleyan University in 2022.
Joe teaches math at Silver Creek High School and lives in Sellersburg, Ind., with his wife Stephanie who is a motivational speaker. They have three children — Nolan (25), Dominic (20), and Reese (17).
Clayton Richard
(Retired)
Richard played high school baseball for Hall of Fame coach Jake Burton at McCutcheon High School where he participated in football, basketball and baseball.
In football, he was four-time All-State, an All-American and was awarded the Indiana Mr. Football Award in 2002. He lettered four years in basketball and is a member of McCutcheon’s 1,000-point club and set rebound records.
In baseball, he played varsity all four years. He led the state in pitching his senior year while allowing only one earned run all season en route to the Mavericks’ second state championship in five years.
Clayton was awarded with the Mr. Baseball award following that season, becoming the first Hoosier athlete to win both Mr. Football and Mr. Baseball. During his time at McCutcheon, he was a valedictorian of his class.
He went on to play football and baseball at the University of Michigan. He played two seasons of football and one of baseball before being chosen by the Chicago White Sox in the eighth round of the 2005 MLB Draft. He was promoted in 2008 and made his debut for the White Sox in July.
He played baseball professionally from 2005-2019. He spent most of his career as a starter for the San Diego Padres.
Clayton Richard lives in Lafayette, where he coaches quarterbacks during the fall and is the head baseball coach at Lafayette Jefferson High
School.
He also owns Captain Spiffy Golf Carts. He is married to Ashley, and they are the proud parents of three children: Cashton (10), Cannon (9) and Kile (6). He is very appreciative of the support he has received through the years from all the members of the Lafayette community, especially Barry, Cindy, Casey, and Taylor.
Bryan Bullington
(Retired)
Bullington attended Madison Consolidated High School where he was a two-sport athlete.
As a sophomore he had a 6-3 record while compiling 74 strikeouts. In 1998, as a junior, he was 10-1, with a 1.69 ERA and 65 strikeouts.
During his senior season, in 1999, Bryan was an impressive 15-0 with a 1.49 ERA and 127 strikeouts. He led his team to the 1999 3A state championship where he threw a one-hitter.
Following the 1999 season he was named Indiana’s Hoosier Diamond Mr. Baseball, MVP of the IHSBCA North-South All-Star Series and drafted in the 37th round by the Kansas City Royals.
Bullington decided to forego Major League Baseball at that time to attend Ball State University. In three seasons at Ball State, he had a career record of 29-11 with 348 strikeouts. He was named first team all- Mid-American Conference all three years at BSU and was named MAC Pitcher of the Year in both the 2001 and 2002 seasons.
Upon leaving Ball State, Bullington held school records for most career wins (29), single-season strikeouts (139), career strikeouts (357) and single-season wins (11). He still holds the MAC conference record in career and single-season strikeouts.
In 2001, he was chosen to pitch for the United States National Team. In 2014, Bullington was inducted into the Ball State Athletics Hall of Fame.
In the 2002 MLB Draft, Bullington was chosen as the first overall pick and signed to play with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Since the start of
the MLB draft in 1965 there have only been two No. 1 overall picks that call Indiana home.
His pro career lasted 12 seasons, but he missed the 2006 season due to labrum surgery and rehab. In seven seasons of Minor League Baseball, he was 61-38 with a 3.68 ERA and had 602 strikeouts.
In 2010, he signed a contract to play professional baseball in Japan. Over 5 seasons with the Hiroshima Carp he was 46-48 with a 3.25 ERA and 550 strikeouts.
Bullington continues to stay connected to the game of baseball as a scout for the Milwaukee Brewers. He lives south of Chicago with his wife and three children — Matt, Bella and Jack.
The 5 Star/Chicago Cubs Scout Team went 4-2, making it to the Sweet 16 in the 104-team event at Oct. 4-9 at Roger Dean Complex in Jupiter, Fla.
The field featured another squad fullof players from the Hoosier State — Team Indiana Bulls. With an online tournament roster featuring standouts from Florida, Georgia, Illinois, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, 5 Star/Top Tier Roos Mafia went 8-0 and won the title.
“Jupiter is the best tournament in the country every year for high school ballplayers,” says Bobby Morris, who served as hitting/assistant coach for the 5 Star/Chicago Cubs Scout Team. “We had a good run.”
From the Class of 2024 looking at Indiana players (there were also eight from Illinois, three from Kentucky, one from Michigan and one from Nebraska on the 30-man online tourney roster), there was outfielder Cole Decker (Evansville North/Cincinnati commit), first baseman/third baseman/right-handed pitcher Josh Ferguson (Evansville Central/Marshall commit), right-handed pitcher Alex Graber (Homestead/Northern Illinois commit), middle infielder Reid Howard (Forest Park/Western Kentucky commit), right-handed pitcher/utility Christian Klug (Indianapolis Bishop Chatard/Navy commit) and left-handed pitcher Ethan Lund (Hamilton Southeastern/Uncommitted);
Also, catcher/third baseman/outfielder Thomas Lynch (Evansville Memorial/Purdue commit), right-handed pitcher Brendin Oliver (Mooresville/Cincinnati commit), catcher/first baseman J.T. Stiner (Indianapolis Cathedral/Uncommitted), right-handed pitcher/third baseman/middle infielder/outfielder Cameron Sullivan (Mt. Vernon of Fortville/Notre Dame commit), right-handed pitcher Conner Vander Luitgaren (Center Grove/Evansville commit), right-handed pitcher/first baseman Mason Weaver (Homestead/Uncommitted) and right-handed pitcher Max Winders (Carmel/Western Kentucky commit).
Representing the Class of 2025 were first baseman/left-handed pitcher/outfielder Mason Braun (Home schooler from South Bend/Uncommitted), first baseman/left-handed pitcher/outfielder Davian Carrera (Boone Grove/Indiana U. commit), right-handed pitcher/third baseman/shortstop Xavier Carrera (Boone Grove/Indiana U. commit) and first baseman/third baseman/right-handed pitcher Joshua Flores (Lake Central/Cincinnati commit).
According to their Prep Baseball Report file, travel affiliations for these Indiana players: Decker (Louisville Legends 2024 National); Ferguson (Indiana Nitro Gold); Graber (Elite Baseball Training-Chicago); Howard (Midwest Canes); Klug (Cubs Scout Team); Lund (Nitro Gold); Lynch (Indiana Bulls Black 16U); Oliver (Canes Midwest 17U); Stiner (Cubs Scout Team); Sullivan (Indiana Nitro); Vander Luitgaren (Canes Midwest); Weaver (17U Indy Sharks Lantz); Winders (Canes Midwest); Braun (Indiana Tucci Mustangs National); Davian Carrera (5 Star Great Lakes Chiefs National); Xavier Carrera (5 Star Great Lakes Chiefs National); and Flores (5 Star Great Lakes Chiefs National).
Morris, owner of the 5 Star Great Lakes Chiefs based in Crown Point, Ind., coached a 5 Star team with Carmel resident Jerry Cowan in Jupiter the past two years.
EBT, headquartered two miles west of Wrigley Field and developed by Chicago Cubs Director of Hitting Justin Stone, has a relationship with the MLB team and 5 Star had a WWBA World Championhip bid so the fall team became the 5 Star/Chicago Cubs Scout Team.
“We have the blessing and the support of the Cubs,” says Morris. “They watch our team closely — not just our performance but from a scouting perspective.
“It’s really exciting for the kids. It’s a great opportunity.”
Morris, a Munster (Ind.) High School graduate who played in the Cubs, Cleveland Indians, Cincinnati Reds and Texas Rangers organizations, says the positives for the players are numerous.
A group high-level players — most NCAA Division I commits — gets to play together in elite tournaments and against top-notch teams prior to their trip to Jupiter. Hitters get to hone their skills with wood bats and against better pitching and there is the exposure to professional baseball and scouts from around pro and college baseball.
“I’d like to think they get very good coaching in the process,” says Morris, 50.
Tierney, 40, was the Cubs Scout Team’s director and pitching coach.
“What I spend a lot of my time doing is teaching these guys how to get high-level hitters out and pitch with more confidence,” says Tierney. “These guys are getting constantly challenged.”
Tierney says the level of talent the scout team sees in the fall is far superior to that seen in the summer.
“Whenever we go somewhere they usually put us against the top teams,” says Tierney.
Before Jupiter, the Cubs Scout Team competed in Prep Baseball Report tourneys at The Rock in Franklin, Wis., and Grand Park in Westfield, Ind., as well as exhibitions with Team Indiana, the Cangelosi Illinois Sparks, Chicago Scouts Association and Cincinnati Reds Fall Scout Team.
“It’s easy to collect a bunch of all-star-oriented kids but if they don’t get a chance to play together usually they’re not very effective in (the WWBA World Championship),” says Cowan. “A lot of teams will try to go down there with a collection of studs. We try to work with our kids all fall long. We play in five or six (elite) tournaments before we go down there so they get a chance to jell together.
“We as coaches have a better feel for what they can do in those team situations.”
Cowan, 55, had coached the 5 Star Midwest National team in 2022 and decided to focus his baseball attention on the fall team.
In forming a fall scout team, Cowan has forms a list of players who will be draft-eligible or headed to a top college program.
“We identify those kids early on,” says Cowan. “I’m already starting to identify the (Class of 2025 and Class of 2026 players) for next year.”
Since getting back from Jupiter, he has already 50 players reach out about getting involved next year.
“When you go down there and you’re one of the top 16 teams in the nation it’s a big deal,” says Cowan. “Now that we’re affiliated with the Cubs we’ve got kids calling us from all over the Midwest.
“It’s growing really fast.”
While the 2023 team was formed through invitations, Cowan says he can see area code tryouts being part of the team-building process in the future.
“It’s a select group,” says Cowan. “We’re looking for the best players.”
Jared Cowan — aka J.J. — is Jerry’s son and served as a Cubs Scout Team assistant. He played for Brad Lantz at Guerin Catholic High School and Jake Martin at Wabash College. The 25-year-old worked with Cubs Scout Team infielders.
And that’s not all.
“Jerry and Jared try to nurture these kids more than from just a baseball perspective,” says Morris. “I’ve got a lot of respect for how they handle things.”
Morris notes that just because an athlete has committed to a school that’s no reason for a coaching staff to take their eyes off of him.
“It’s so much more important for colleges to continue to watch players because of the introduction of the Transfer Portal,” says Morris. “These players have the opportunity of leaving one, two, three years down the road.
“The game has changed with Name, Image, Likeness (NIL money) being available for players. The dynamics are ever-shifting.”
Adds Cowan, “(a player’s) position within the program can change since the time they committed to it. A lot of times these kids are making decisions as sophomores and juniors and they’re babies.
“They’re having to make huge life-altering decisions and they just don’t have enough data points to possibly be making those decisions.”
Cowan has also witnessed what he calls re-recruiting.
School X may offer a 25-percent scholarship and School Y comes along proposing 50 percent.
Sometimes a player has not developed since their commitment and that original offer is rescinded or downgraded.
“Even players who sign (a commitment letter), it’s only a year-to-year contract,” says Cowan. “That contract is renewable (or revocable) every year.”
Kris Massey has heard himself described as a “pitch-to-contact” kind of pitcher.
After averaging 12.75 strikeouts per nine innings in three NAIA seasons, 8.57 in one NCAA Division I campaign and 13.05 in his first professional period, the left-hander from Indianapolis sees it differently.
“As of now I’d like to disagree,” says Kris with a K. “I like to go in there and strike guys out.”
Massey, a 2018 of Southport High School in Indianapolis, hurled for Indiana Tech in Fort Wayne (2019-22) and the University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas (2023), getting into 58 games (55 in relief) and went 2-4 with two saves, a 7.13 earned run average, 92 strikeouts and 56 walks in 83 1/3 innings.
He signed this summer with the Pioneer League’s Northern Colorado Owlz in Windsor, Colo., which is 4,797 feet above sea level and 60 miles north of Denver and near Fort Collins.
In 21 mound appearances (all in relief) for a team managed by Frank Gonzales, Massey went 0-0 with 7.65 ERA, 29 strikeouts and 17 walks in 20 innings. Pitching at high elevation, he yielded four home runs.
“Two were legit and the other two were kind of flukey,” says Massey. “I started (the season) off good, had a little shaky spot then got into groove.
“It’s definitely a hitter-friendly league.”
The Owlz joined the Pioneer (an Major League Baseball partner league) in 2022. The team plays at TicketSmarter Stadium, a 6,500-seat facility which opened in 2023. The season closed Sept. 9.
A 6-foot-4, 200-pounder, Massey throws from a three-quarter arm slot after raising it from sidearm.
He throws a four-seam fastball, sinker, slider and splitter. The four-seamer was up to 93.8 mph at a recent bullpen and sits at 90 to 92. A newer pitch in Massey’s mix, the sinker runs 18 inches down and to the left.
It’s a “gyro” slider that the southpaw uses.
The splitter is a grip learned from family friend David Chamberlin (who has been an assistant coach at Marian University in Indianapolis) in middle school. Out of Massey’s hand the ball acts something like a knuckleball with spin.
Massey earned a Marketing degree at NAIA member Indiana Tech in 2022. Looking for more exposure and having another year of eligibility, he entered the Transfer Portal and posted a video on Twitter.
“My phone was blowing up,” says Massey, who at one point looked bound for Ball State University then landed a scholarship at NCAA D-I UT-Rio Grande Valley.
“The Valley packs (UTRGV Baseball) Stadium,” says Massey.
With Derek Matlock as head coach, the 2023 Vaqueros finished 30-26 overall and 15-14 in the Western Athletic Conference. The WAC also features Grand Canyon, Sam Houston, Utah Valley, Seattle U., Abilene Christian, UT Arlington, California Baptist, Sacramento State, Stephen F. Austin, Tarleton State, New Mexico State and Utah Tech.
Graduate student Massey hurled a season-high five innings and with a campaign-best six strikeouts April 4 against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He fired three hitless innings and fanned four March 29 against Texas State.
While at Indiana Tech, Massey whiffed 36 in 19 innings in 2022, 21 in 26 1/3 innings in 2021, six in six innings in 2020 (a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic) and nine in 11 innings in 2019.
As part of an accelerated online Master of Business Administration program with a Marketing concentration, Massey has been taking two courses every seven weeks — even during the baseball season — with a week off in-between and says he will be done Oct. 11.
Born in Champaign, Ill., Kris was in foster care then adopted by Roy and Andrea Massey. The mechanic and child development director have two older daughters — Paige and Lyndsey.
Mike Klopfenstein was Southport’s head coach during Massey’s senior campaign.
“He’s a great guy,” says Massey of Klopfenstein. “I just caught up with him a couple of days ago.”
Massey’s favorite player is Los Angeles left-hander Clayton Kershaw.
“He’s one of the most dominant left-handed pitchers of recent time,” says Massey. “He was a good inspiration to watch growing up.”
Competition stokes Massey’s fire.
“I hate losing,” says Massey. “That quality goes a long way for me. I won’t do anything to win, but I’ll train as hard as I can to win.
“I’m a pretty good team guy. I’m reliable and accountable.”
The pitcher also sees himself as a grinder.
“I’m always here for the grind — no matter what the situation is,” says Massey.
Friend Spencer Strobel (who pitched Avon, Ind., High School, Indiana Purdue Fort Wayne, Purdue Fort Wayne and Indiana Tech) got Massey to start training at PRP Baseball in Noblesville, Ind., late in the winter 2020-21.
“I wanted to get better at baseball. I wasn’t good,” says Massey, who went went from a submarine delivery at 80 to 81 mph to a sidearm slot which eventually became three-quarter — which is where he was after getting a scare with elbow pain as a Southport sophomore.
He had a breakout in his last year at Indiana Tech and continued training at PRP. He threw a bullpen there a week ago.
Massey’s lone season of summer collegiate baseball was with the 2022 West Virginia Miners of the Prospect League. He went 1-2 and struck out 38 in 30 innings and posted a 7.50 ERA.
“I got the yips, figured it out and finished OK,” says of his time pitching in Beckley, W.Va.
Helping Massey get signed to a pro contract was Henry Gonzales III, owner of Directional Coaching, Inc., in Chula Vista, Calif., who is also affiliated with the ScoutUSPro app.
While Massey could end up back with Northern Colorado in 2024, Gonzales has lined up a Pro Day in January for the lefty and others to be seen by representatives of MLB-affiliated teams plus independent and possible some Mexican League teams.
Massey says he will begin prepping for that in October. He turns 24 in November.
Alex Coil was a baseball player for as long as possible.
The day before he headed to Arizona State University the Valparaiso, Ind., native competed for the Crown Point-based Northwest Indiana Rippers in the 2018 Babe Ruth World Series in Jamestown, N.Y.
Once in Arizona, Coil immersed himself in sports journalism, radio, television and digital communication.
“I knew I wanted to be around sports as much as I could,” says Coil, who also played at Valpo Americans Baseball and for Valparaiso American Legion Post 94, Valparaiso High School and other travel teams. “It’s the way my brain comprehends things. My brain has always looked through the lens of sports. Playing was the No. 1. When it got to the tail end of that it was always (broadcasting).”
For two semesters, former baseball commissioner Bud Selig was one of Coil’s professors at ASU. Starting as a freshman, he did play-by-play for many sports and also wrote for the school paper.
He was director of broadcasting and media relations for the Joliet (Ill.) Generals in the summer of 2020.
He also partnered with Crown Point High School graduate Andrew Mild, who is now a broadcaster with the Atlantic League South Maryland Blue Crabs.
After graduating ASU in 2022, Coil was hired by the Memphis (Tenn.) Redbirds and as the play-by-play voice for the International League team and Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and is now in his second season. He is the lone on-air talent for games on the Bally Live app, also serving as pregame and postgame host.
“We have a tremendous production crew,” says Coil. “We pride ourselves on the product. It’s really elevated since the beginning of the season. We go all-in for all 75 of our home games.
“We’re seeing progress in getting as close as we can to a major-league quality TV broadcast.”
When the Redbirds are on the road, Coil is involved with public relations and communications, putting out press releases and game recaps and feeding social media. In 2022, he went on three road trips, including Indianapolis where he got to meet longtime Indians play-by-play broadcaster Howard Kellman.
Cincinnati Reds color analyst Chris Welsh — who pitched in parts of five MLB and seasons became a mentor for collegian Coil — pitched for Indianapolis in 1984 with Kellman calling the action.
Coil, who turned 24 earlier this month, goes into every broadcast looking to bring the energy of a fan with the knowledge of how baseball is supposed to be played.
“That doesn’t come from me,” says Coil. “It comes from everybody I’ve surrounded myself with growing up in baseball.”
Alex, the son of Wayne and Traci Coil and older brother of Nolan Coil, comes from a baseball family. Wayne Coil coaches at Valparaiso High School and for Post 94. Nolan Coil is a pitcher at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.
While his friends were watching cartoons growing up, Alex was taking in SportsCenter on ESPN and now constantly consumes the MLB Network.
“I try to take pieces of everybody I’ve watch and try to apply that to what happens in the game,” says Coil.
Not wishing to force it, Coil does not yet have a signature call.
“I want it to happen organically,” says Coil. “Where I’m at now if I just came up with something it would fall flat.
“With a home run call there is a rhythm to it I’ve got consistently down. But when that home run is hit I’m not automatically going to something.”
Years before, the words on the town’s water tower on I-75/I-71 went from “Florence Mall” to “Florence Y’All” since advertising was not allowed on a public utility. When the Florence Freedom went through a name change the team became the Y’Alls and its mascot is a costumed representation of the striped water tower.
“When we won I’d say, ‘Paint the W on the water tower,’” says Coil. “That’s as closest to a signature call as I’ve ever gotten.”
Coil quickly adapted to the pitch clock, which was enacted to take out the down time in baseball.
“We played with pitch count last year,” says Coil. “For the first couple of series it was about trying to find the rhythm. Once you get used to that, it’s really just part of the game.
“I don’t even notice it any more.”
While his father and brother pulled for the Reds, Alex came up as a “massive Chicago Cubs fan.”
For a long time his Cubs favorite player was Darwin Barney.
“Partially because he wore the No. 15 (one of Coil’s travel ball numbers) and because he was so good defensively,” says Coil. “He was a really good person.”
His appreciation went with Anthony Rizzo when he played for the North Siders.
Growing up, Coil’s Cubs broadcasters were Len Kasper on TV and Pat Hughes on the radio.
“With Len Kasper it’s more of that fan,” says Coil. “It’s the energy. His voice will crack sometimes because he gets really, really excited about things. He also has a very analytical approach.
“With Pat Hughes it’s how polished and the command of a broadcast he has. When he says his first word you know who’s talking.”
Coil also took any plenty of Reds games with Marty Brennaman at the mic.
“He was the perfect mix of professional broadcaster and having that hometown fan approach,” says Coil. “He wouldn’t back away from criticizing things. If you do it in the right way, it raises your credibility.”
During spring training and Reds’ regular-season visits to play the Arizona Diamondbacks, Coil got to work with Welsh and Thom Brennaman (Marty’s son) as a statistician.
He plans to broadcast Arizona Fall League games for the second straight year and return in February with college baseball’s MLB Desert Invitational. Both are on MLB.com. He also worked the 2022 home run derby during AFL Fall Stars festivities.
“He was my first interview last year for our pregame show,” says Coil. “He transferred in (from Northeastern University) and didn’t know too many people around Phoenix. He was such an easy guy to talk to.
“After the recorded interview was over he would carry on the conversation and be a normal person.”
Coil gets to weave history into his broadcasts when he talks about Memphis teams of the past. Every Thursday home game the Redbirds — in their 25th season — take on the alternate identity of the Memphis Chicks. In his time with the team, the franchise has also given nods to the Memphis Turtles and Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League, Negro National League and Negro Southern League during contests at AutoZone Park.
Alex Coil and Bud Selig.
Tyler Paley and Alex Coil.
Alex Coil with Northwest Indiana Rippers.
Alex Coil’s broadcast view at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tenn.
Dawson Willis is spending his summer a long way from home.
About 900 miles.
The Louisiana teenager came to Indiana to play baseball and he has been shining with the Elkhart County Miracle in that team’s first year in the wood-bat Northern League — a six-team loop blending amateurs and professionals.
Willis, a 6-foot-5, 180-pound shortstop who turned 19 in April and finished his freshmen season at National Junior College Athletic Association member Louisiana State University-Eunice in May, has been among the NL leaders in many categories in 2023.
With his batting eye and athleticism, the 2022 graduate of Ruston (La.) High School has drawn the interest of Major League Baseball scouts.
He earned the right to play in the league’s all-star game at Oil City in Whiting, Ind., on July 18 (joined by Elkhart County teammates Conor Gausselin, Bryce Lesher, Bryce Miller and Jaden Miller) and was announced as NL Player of the Week that same day.
Through 45 games, the righty-swinging Willis was hitting .324 (55-of-170) with one home run (July 16 at Indiana Panthers), six triples, 14 doubles, 27 runs batted in, 39 runs scored, a .926 OPS (.432 on-base percentage plus .494 slugging average) and 27 stolen bases (in 32 attempts).
Willis, who is usually in the No. 2 or No. 3 spot in the Miracle batting order, paces the circuit in hits, triples, runs, slugging percentage, stolen bases, total bases (83) and defensive assists (120) and is second in games, at-bats, doubles, plate appearances (206) and double plays (20). Elkhart County recently turned a 5-4-3 triple play with the bases loaded but Willis was not involved in that.
“You get to see a lot of at-bats at the top of the order,” says Willis. “I get to see the pitcher and let my teammates know what he’s like.
“I’m just looking for a barrel on the fastball and adjust to the off-speed and shoot the ball from gap to gap.”
Patrick Gelwicks, who was a standout first baseman/outfielder at Butler University in Indianapolis 2010-13 and now an LSU-Eunice assistant coach, helped connect Business major Willis with Evan Sharpley who coordinates talent for Miracle owner/50-year broadcaster Craig Wallin. The led to the youngster’s opportunity to play for Elkhart County manager/baseball lifer Wilson Valera.
“He’s taught me how to hunt for a fastball,” says Willis of Valera.
Why does Willis prefer to play shortstop?
“Most of the time you’re getting some action,” says Willis. “I like to beat the ball to the position and make a strong, accurate throw.”
“I like the way he plays the game,” says Willis of the Kansas City Royals shortstop/third baseman.
The top four teams make the Northern League playoffs. At present, the Lake County CornDogs (29-12), Northwest Indiana Oilmen (26-20), Southland Vikings (25-20) and Indiana Panthers (22-25) are in and the Elkhart County Miracle (19-29) and Griffith Generals (15-30) are on the outside looking in.
Elkhart County has three more away games scheduled before wrapping the regular season with three home contests Aug. 1-3 at NorthWood High School’s Field of Dreams Complex in Nappanee.
With no overnight stays, NL teams travel back and forth across the Eastern and Central time zones.
A typical gameday with the Miracle (the only Eastern team) sees Willis rise at the Elkhart home of host family Ron and Julia Sherck, go to the gym for a workout followed by batting practice at a local high school with a teammate.
He meets the team bus around 4 p.m., gets to the opposing field about 6, plays the game and gets back to Elkhart around 1 a.m.
As for his actual family, Dawson is the middle child of Chris and Mandy Willis. They have been working and unable to come to see their son play this summer though games have been available online. Christopher is Dawson’s older brother. Kennedy is his younger sister.
After his days with the Ruston Bearcats as a football and baseball player, Willis spent the summer of 2022 with the Dingoes of the Northern Louisiana Collegiate League in Shreveport, La., before heading going more than three hours to play for the Bengals of LSU-Eunice where Jeff Willis — no relation — is the head baseball coach and athletic director.
Ruston is the home of Louisiana Tech University.
Last August, Dawson showed off his speed when he was clocked in 6.6 seconds for the 60-yard dash.
In the spring of 2023, Willis played in 52 games (49 starts) and hit .341 (59-of-173) with six homers, one triple, 11 doubles, 42 RBIs, 65 runs, .985 OPS (.465/.520) and 29 steals (in 38 attempts).
Dawson Willis at the 2023 Northern League All-Star Game in Whiting, Ind. (Elkhart County Miracle Photo)
Elkhart County Miracle players at the 2023 Northern League All-Star Game in Whiting, Ind., are (from left): Conor Gausselin, Dawson Willis, Bryce Lesher, Jaden Miller and Bryce Miller. (Northern League Photo)
East players in the 2023 Northern League All-Star Game in Whiting, Ind., including Elkhart County Miracles Conor Gausselin, Dawson Willis, Bryce Lesher, Jaden Miller and Bryce Miller in red. (Northern League Photo)
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