Prep Baseball Report

2015 Team Preview: Goddard Eisenhower



By Sean McCann
Prep Baseball Report Kansas

As we prepare for the upcoming 2015 high school season, we will be taking a preseason glimpse at programs from around the state.

Team: Goddard Eisenhower
Nickname: Tigers
Class: 5A
League: AVCTL-II
Head Coach: Tom Campa
Years as Head Coach at School: 10
2014 Overall Record: 19-4
2014 League Record: 10-2
2014 League Finish: 1st
2014 Post-Season Finish: Regional championship

Returning Starters: 6
Pitchers with 15+ Innings Returning: 2

TOP RETURNERS (College Commitment)
Braden Minor, RHP, 2016 (Oklahoma) – Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year
Dalton Dinkel, C, 2016 – All-AVCTL, 1st Team
Nathan Brisco, OF, 2015 (Kansas City Kansas CC) – All-AVCTL, 1st Team
Jacob Gibson, IF/OF, 2015 – All-AVCTL, 2nd Team

X-FACTOR
Braden Minor. The Oklahoma commit picked up several honors last spring including the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year, All-AVCTL and KABC 5A All-State. He posted a 5-1 record on the mound with a 1.88 ERA and 55 strikeouts in 41 innings while also hitting .538 with 23 RBI.

KEY PLAYER LOST
Sam Hersh, RHP, 2014 (Iowa Western CC). Hersh posted a 5-0 record and 2.51 ERA earning KABC 5A All-State accolades.

2015 OUTLOOK
Eisenhower looks to make a return trip to the 5A state tournament with the return of six starters from their everyday line-up and two pitchers with significant innings. They have a legitimate No. 1 starter in junior RHP Braden Minor and one of the top catchers in Kansas in junior Dalton Dinkel. In addition seniors OF Nathan Brisco (.394, 24 RBI) and IF/OF Jacob Gibson (.375, 9 extra base hits, 17 RBI) joined Minor and Dinkel in earning All-AVCTL honors last spring. The Tigers return a pair of athletic middle infielders in switch-hitting senior Brendan Welch and junior Brett Huelsmann. On the mound they need to replace All-State RHP Sam Hersh, two candidates to emerge on the mound this spring include projectable right-handers junior Bishop Carroll transfer Nick Henning and sophomore Kade Short.

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