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Bold Predictions, Preseason Picks and More - A Look At 2026 Washington High School Baseball

March 13, 2026
Dan Jurik & Dylan Grenz
Prep Baseball PNW

Happy Washington high school baseball season, baseball fans!

As the season flips to 2026, what will HS ball have in store after an exciting 2025? We asked our Prep Baseball PNW staff, Scouting Director Dan Jurik and Assistant Scouting Director Dylan Grenz, to give their insights and bold predictions heading into the spring.

Ranging from most improved teams, breakout players and championship predictions, below we’ll work through what we’re expecting in 2026.

The Teams

What team do you feel most confident in to improve on their 2025 season?

DJ: Decatur. There are some key losses in the senior class to replace, specifically Hunter Buol and Eric Havili. But they bring back some key arms with Tyler Buol and Ethan Flavel to ideally lead the way at the top of the rotation, with Landon Le and Dylan Reano as quality depth pieces. On offense, they bring back 6 of their top 8 hitters from last season and there is no shortage of power in this line-up. 

DG: I’ll go a little off the beaten path here and say Newport. The Knights finished last season 3-17, but I like the young pieces that should be varsity contributors. Patrick Crowley was great this winter and offers speed and positional versatility, and the sophomore trio of Sebastian Unay, Mason Malloy, and Ian Westendorf is a fun group. They also added transfer Noah Chong, who can provide real two-way ability. If they can piece together enough pitching, I would expect them to take a step forward.

What state champion from 2025 has the best chance to repeat this spring?

DJ: Bainbridge. With all due respect to other defending champions, this is a pretty easy choice here. Not only do they bring back a ton of key pieces from last year’s championship team but all of their key contributors still have the potential to get better and improve. Senior leadership and experience on the mound and young position players who gained valuable reps last season make them the heavy favorite at the 2A level. 

DG: It’s hard to argue against Bainbridge. The dynamic duo of McCrea Curfman and Trey Thompson is as good a pair of arms as any team in the state. The offensive skillsets of Will Rohrbacher, AJ Larsen and Dom D’Amico will wreak havoc as well. I’ll throw in an honorable mention to the defending 3A state champs Mount Vernon, who bring back a fun and talented lineup with players including Baird Brewer, Bode Webb and Reece Roberts.

What team outside of our Preseason Power 25 do you think has the best chance to enter the 25 by season’s end?

DJ: Bellevue. I think ‘26 Greyson Arnold (Northwest Nazarene) is an underrated arm coming into this season and I also think we’ll see more innings on the mound from ‘26 Ellis Oeltjen (San Francisco) this spring. Oeltjen is also one of the top senior position players in the state and his offensive ability combined with ‘26 Jackson Rankin, ‘26 Brody Gayte and ‘28 Jessie Gonzalez gives the Wolverines a solid core on offense to carry them. I’d also keep an eye on Eastside Catholic, Inglemoor and Skyview. 

DG: Several teams from the southern part of the state just missed out on our Preseason Power 25, and I’ll go with one of them here with Battle Ground. The Tigers have an incredible leading cast with junior Oregon State commit Cooper McGowan and senior Washington commit James Gill. Gill is a two-time league POTY and has massive pop/velocity from the left side. Sophomore Collin McGowan is our second-ranked 2028 and has game-changing skills as well. The depth will be a bit of a question, but I’d expect BG to be a strong side nonetheless.

Prediction time. What team do you feel most confident in picking as a state champion?

DJ: Again, the easy pick here is Bainbridge. But since they were already selected as most likely to repeat, I want to go in a different direction. I think I’m most confident in Sumner to be the final team standing at the 4A level this season. They have athletes all over the diamond and an ace at the top of the rotation with ‘27 Wyatt Plyler. I don’t know how many teams will be able to keep pace with them offensively this year. 

DG: I love the Sumner pick. I’ll turn to a 3A level that seems fairly wide open this year and pick Gig Harbor. The Tides feature an incredibly deep pitching staff, with seniors Quentin Bockhorn, Jake Cuda and Logan Pedersen all returning after logging heavy innings last season. The two-way impact of sophomore transfer Daniel Sleeter is a huge storyline and boosts their ceiling significantly. After a 25-3 record and state semifinals appearance last spring, I like their chances to get to the top of the 3A level in 2026.

The Players

For the first time since 2023, we’ll have a new Washington Player of the Year. Who is your preseason pick to take home the award?

DJ: I would anticipate an experienced senior to take home the award this season and given the importance of being a 2-way player for this accolade, my preseason pick would be ‘26 Christopher Moore from Kentlake. The Washington commit has been a staple at the top of the 2026 class for his entire prep career and he has continued to show steady and consistent progress in all facets of his game. Specifically, he’s developed a lot more power at the plate in the last year while maintaining the same easy, repeatable swing that makes him an above average hitter. On the mound, he’s always been a strike thrower with multiple pitches and I think his velocity jumps into the low 90s indicate he’s primed for a huge season on the mound. 

DG: Dan mentioned him in the teams section, but Sumner’s Wyatt Plyler is poised to elevate to a POTY type status. The junior OF/RHP and recent Wake Forest commit has a remarkable collection of tools, with a 6.5 run time, triple digit exit velocities, and a fastball into the low 90’s seen in a showcase setting. Last spring, he matched the tools with in-game production, hitting .470 with plus centerfield defense and finishing with an ERA just over 2 in 39 innings. Two-way production is huge in POTY conversations, and I like Plyler’s chances in that regard.

What pitcher will break out this spring?

DJ: I really like what we saw from ‘28 RHP Vaka Tameilau (Kingston) in the preseason at our All-State event and he has all of the traits we typically see from a PNW arm who is capable of making a big jump. He’s a lean, lanky athlete with a wider upper-half and a ton of projection. The arm action is loose, whippy and generates a ton of layback prior to release. As he continues to mature and get stronger, I’d expect his velocity to continue to rise and his most recent PR of 87.8 mph is likely just scratching the surface of his potential. 

DG: I’ll mention a couple of arms I like here. Mercer Island sophomore RHP Albertino Pozzo has improved with every look in a showcase environment, running a fastball up to 88 MPH this winter. He posts plus spin rates with all his offerings, including two distinct breaking balls with wipeout potential. I also loved what I saw from Olympia’s Peyton Crass in an in-game look last spring. The junior righty competes with a bulldog-like approach on the mound and a fastball in the mid-80’s. Olympia graduates their top two arms from last spring, paving the way for Crass to take on a bigger role on the mound.

What position player will break out this spring?

DJ: ‘28 Gregory Johnson (Puyallup). I think this season will present an opportunity for Johnson to have a bigger role offensively for the Vikings and I think he’s ready to deliver. He’s continued to show impressive power in games across multiple looks and it comes so easily to him that he doesn’t need to sacrifice his contact rate at all in order to slug at a consistent level. His overall maturity in the box has really stood out as of late. 

DG: After putting on a show at PNW Preseason All-State, Kolton Weed is a pick to click. The senior and PLU commit has blistering 6.55 speed that can play atop the lineup and in center field. He also showcased increased power this winter, peaking with a 101.5 MPH EV and a 382 foot batted ball distance. Rogers graduates two big time bats in Ian Draper and Martyn Hernandez, which could lead to Weed as a potential void filler in the lineup.

What upperclassman (junior/senior) do you expect to take a step forward?

DJ: ‘27 OF Drew Maguire (Roosevelt) is one of the most athletic players in the state right now at any level. His combination of size, speed and power all grade out above average and he flashed huge tools at All-State this February. 6’5 athletes with 6.65 speed and exit velocities over 100+ mph don’t appear often and Maguire will have a ton of attention on him this spring. Also keep an eye on ‘27 Harlan Carrillo (Curtis) and ‘27 Danny Morgan (Shorewood). 

DG: I'll go with Eastlake senior Jayden Matsuoka. The speedy outfielder seemed to deliver clutch play after clutch play for the Wolves down the stretch last spring. His defense/run tool can impact the game, and I'd expect him to get a bump up the batting order as well. If Eastlake wants to repeat their success and work back to the 4A title game again, he could be a big reason why.

What underclassman (sophomore/freshman) will have the biggest impact at the varsity level?

DJ: ‘28 3B/1B Titan Fraser (Inglemoor) should have an opportunity to make an impact this season and he has all of the potential to be a productive bat. Overall, Fraser showed one of the better offensive performances we saw in February thanks to his effortless bat speed and consistent rhythm/tempo in the box. He averaged 94.6 mph throughout BP with a peak of 101.9 mph and he made it look incredibly easy. His frame and size can handle more strength and I’d fully expect his power to continue to trend upward. 

DG: It’s tough to pick from all the sophomores that will impact their teams, so instead I’ll go with a freshman that impressed this winter in Seattle Prep’s Johnny Riley. I loved what I saw offensively from Riley at PNW Preseason All-State. The righty showcased an incredible knack for finding the barrel with a sound mechanical operation as well. By all accounts, Riley is a gamer with an ability to impact the game in all facets, and I’m looking forward to seeing it translate at the high school level.

What player will you be following after impressing in a showcase this winter?

DJ: ‘28 INF/P Colton Smith (Ferris) put together one of the best 2-way performances we saw this preseason and all of his numbers across the board showed big improvement. An athletic left-handed stick with bat speed and power who can stick on the left-side of the INF. Smith also ran his FB into the upper 80s with an aggressive but controlled demeanor on the bump. ‘27 Scout Symmes (West Valley) is another 2-way athlete on the east side to watch this spring after what he showed in the preseason. 

DG: I love the two-way ability shown this winter by Blaine HS junior Aaron Garza. The compact-framed righty gets the most out of a high intent swing with barrel coverage through the zone, posting exit velocities up to 96.5 MPH. I’d expect the swing to play in-game, alongside his arsenal on the mound. Garza ran his fastball up to 85 MPH to all quadrants of the strike zone, with a wipeout slider shown as his best secondary.

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