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Preseason High School Preview: Duchesne

March 11, 2024
By: Diego Solares
Central Region Media Director, Scouting

The 2024 Missouri high school baseball season is quickly approaching and, as usual, excitement is abound throughout the state. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season and, as is the case each year, there are some very talented players and teams across Missouri. 

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Ozark come early June, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Missouri. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews, eventually releasing our Preseason team rankings that’ll carry us into the opening week of action.

Please keep checking back throughout the season as we will be your one-stop shop for everything related to high school baseball across the state, and we’ll be releasing daily content to ensure our top-tier coverage of the ‘Show Me’ state. 

Our 2024 preseason coverage continues today.

Team: Duchesne
2023 Record: 17-17 (District Finalist)
Conference: AAA
Classification: 3A
Head Coach: Michael Hollander

UPPERCLASSMEN TO KNOW

UNDERCLASS FOLLOWS

OUTLOOK

Duchesne won the AAA conference championship last year, falling in their District championship game to Elsberry in a tight 1-0 contest. Now, the Pioneers bring back several key pieces from last year’s bunch that have their eyes set on more in 2024. 

There’s a strong blend of experienced upperclassmen and talented youngsters on this Pioneers’ team. INF Nolan Taylor (2024) and OF Anthony Painter (2024) are a pair of seniors that should see regular playing time this spring. Taylor had a team high 30 RBIs last year and hit .330 while reaching base at a .432 clip over 100 at-bats, while Painter is expected to be a mainstay in the lineup throughout his final year of high school ball. 

Duchesne is strong at the catcher with C Sam Jost (2025), who’ll once again captain this club from behind the dish. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound backstop hit .366 with a .947 OPS as a sophomore last spring with eight extra-base hits and 24 RBIs. Aside from his offense, Jost has a strong arm behind the plate and brings a reliable, experienced presence for this pitching staff. 

Sam Jost

OF Cayden Wolfe (2025), OF Jack Burle (2025), and 1B Jaiden Wurth (2025) are three juniors of note in this lineup. Wolfe slashed .396/.475/.519, driving in 20 runs, and finished the season a perfect 16-for-16 in stolen base attempts. Burle was a big winner from the A’s Scout Day in mid-February and his polished left-handed bat will be a welcomed addition in his first taste of varsity action. Wurth swings a physical right-handed bat and reached base at the highest clip (.536) of anyone from last year’s squad, batting .388 with 24 RBIs. OF Cole Brockmeyer (2025) saw brief playing time as a sophomore and could factor into this Pioneers’ offense, too. 

Jack Burle

Expect RHP Gavin Moffitt (2025) to serve as a true top-of-the-rotation arm for Duchesne this season. The 6-foot, 180-pound junior has a quality three-pitch mix and hurled 38 ⅓ innings with a 2.92 ERA in 2024. 

Gavin Moffitt

INF/RHP Jackson Nikodym (2026) put together a stellar spring in 2023 en route to ‘Conference Player of the Year’ honors as a freshman. In his first year of high school ball, Nikodym slashed .423/.483/.529 over 104 at-bats with 11 doubles and 21 RBIs. He added 42 innings on the mound, pitching to a 3.50 ERA while punching out 48. Now a year older and more mature physically, Nikodym will look to build on the success he had last spring while continuing to be the heartbeat of this Duchesne squad. 

Jackson Nikodym

Two more sophomores to know are CIF/RHP Jaymeson Forest (2026) and INF TJ Griese (2026). Forest has some of the more prodigious raw power from the left side that you’ll find in the entire class and will look to be an immediate middle-of-the-order impact for Duchesne. Griese brings stability up the middle of the field defensively and showed promise at the plate throughout his freshman year. 

Jaymeson Forest

BOTTOM LINE

There’s a lot of talent on this Duchesne squad, and a majority of it returns from a team that nearly won a District title in 2023. Their offense is clearly a strength - it’s a deep lineup from top to bottom - and if the Pioneers get consistent production on the mound this team could be a real player in Class 3. 

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