The 2026 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement is present throughout Nebraska. 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 the Cornhusker State.

Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons at Werner Park at the NSAA championship games, but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to shine a spotlight on all teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Nebraska.

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.

Each week we will be releasing our Diamond Notes and Player of The Week, covering all the bases across the state of Nebraska.

---

Platte Valley Patriots

High School: Platte Valley
Head Coach: Shawn Emanuel
Class: Class B
2025 Record (Finish): 7-18 (Lost to Skutt in Skutt District)

---

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS

+ Carson Hollst - 2.21 ERA, 43 K, 47.2 IP

+ Cael Smith - .384 BA, 14SB, 73AB

+ Hunter Hatzenbuehler - .333 BA, 10 SB

+ Nolan Roberts - 39 IP 4.38 ERA, 20K

+ Hunter Williams - 10IP, .280 BA

+ Jack Johnson - 25IP, 3.92 ERA

+ Kale Hoffer - .316 BA

---

TOP UNDERCLASSMEN

+ Wave Cerny

+ Hayden Kauffman

---

ALUMNI IN COLLEGE

+ Hayden Lewis - Nebraska-Omaha

+ Dawson Thies - Iowa Western CC

+ Cade Bridges - Doane

+ Levi Kennedy - Buena Vista

+ Jake Butler - Buena Vista

+ Timmy Hunt - McCook Community College

+ Statton Corey - Dakota Wesleyan

---

TEAM OUTLOOK

“We return our entire pitching staff. We feel pitching is our biggest strength. Our next biggest strength is our experience. We only graduated 1 player from the 2025 team, so this team grew and matured a lot last year. We feel we are a much closer and tougher group coming into 2026. We have 13 returning letter winners. We feel we can compete with anyone in class B.” – Shawn Emanuel, head coach

---

Find more information on the 2026 Platte Valley program below:

+ Follow them on X: @plattevalball
+ Visit the Prep Baseball Nebraska, 2026 HS Team Previews

---

FOLLOW PREP BASEBALL NEBRASKA THROUGHOUT THE SPRING

+ Prep Baseball Nebraska on X
+ Prep Baseball Nebraska on Instagram
+ Prep Baseball Nebraska on Facebook

 

---

Related Content