Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Grant Generals coach Matt Kabza Reflects on 2025 Playoff Run

December 18, 2025
Maggie Akins
PNW Reporter

“Baseball is hard,” Matt Kabza said.

When you’re fighting for your 6A first state championship title, baseball is very hard.

The Grant High School Generals were seen by many as a sort of Cinderella team last season, coming out of nowhere and embarking on an improbable playoff run. Kabza and the team may disagree on the "Cinderella" label.

The Generals finished last season 22-8, winning their last 11 games in a row before reaching the 6A state championship. Despite falling to 6A champion Sunset High School, Grant had a 2025 season that was nothing short of historic, fantastic, and, needless to say, electric.

“I've been coaching for a while, and to make a run like that in the playoffs was really special,” Kabza said.

Kabza has been with Grant teaching since 2006 and coaching the Generals since 2012, as a hometown guy growing up in Northeast Portland and spending his high school years at what is now McDaniel High School.

The Generals hadn’t made it to a 6A state championship for 70 years until last season, so what was the secret that led to this success?

Kabza noted that there may not be one specific secret, but a blend of having the right coaching staff, weight training and conditioning, and having a group of kids that have played a lot of baseball together and buying in.

The group played summer ball together, winning and losing some tournaments, which Kabza calls big learning experiences for them.

“I would say having that special group of players is always a key ingredient to having that success, and we've had good players at Grant for years, and so it was cool to see this last year's group have as much success as we did,” Kabza said.

On the contrary, Kabza tried something a little bit different last year. He decided to invest more in the mental performance of the game.

“We spent time at lunch and during practices talking about dealing with adversity, dealing with pressure, and having a plan for when those types of moments come up,” Kabza said.

Kabza knows the ins and outs of failure and the emotional ups and downs of a game or a season through his own experiences.

“I feel like with that experience as a player, I'm now able to identify with the players and help them to manage their way through those times that are good and bad,” Kabza said.

In hopes of carrying the success over into this season, Kabza expresses the importance ofcontinuous improvement.

“Last year was amazing, but heartbreaking all at the same time, and definitely motivating as well. We can learn from having the success that we had, and then we can also learn from the fact that we didn't win at all, and push that little bit further the next opportunity,” Kabza said.

What the Generals didn’t win in a state championship, they won in experience. Kabza got to coach a team of gifted players, watch them make history, and feel the support of the Generals' baseball fanbase.

“I think one of the best parts of the whole experience was having the entire community rally behind the team,” Kabza said.

Kabza recalled the moment when senior Kaeden Cruse, a key asset to the team, hit two home runs against Jesuit in the 8-2 semi-final win as the loudest fan eruption he’s had as a baseball coach.

Looking ahead, RHP Jinki Tomita, INF Grant Snidow, DH Elliot Raiton, and INF Luke Caron are on the lookout to take steps forward as key parts to the team next season.

“I think collectively, as a unit, as an entire team from top to bottom, that we have a lot of talent, and it's gonna be kind of cool to see how all the pieces of the puzzle kind of fall together as we move through the spring. I could see us being just as good if not better offensively this next year,” Kabza said.

Throughout the hardships of baseball, the Grant Generals Baseball program brings its depth and is up to the challenge of going to that 6A state championship game again, but this time with a different outcome.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Corvallis Preseason ID OR 02/14 Oregon State University - Corvallis, OR
Pacific Northwest Preseason All-State (Invite-Only) OR 02/16 NW Sports Hub - Centralia, WA
Pacific Northwest Preseason ID OR 02/17 NW Sports Hub - Centralia, WA
Eugene Preseason ID OR 03/01 University of Oregon, PK Park - Eugene, OR

RELATED CONTENT