Six Iola High baseball players were named to the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches’ All-League team over the weekend.
Three were named to the All-State Team while all six were appointed to the Pioneer All-League Team.
Jarrett Herrmann earned All-State Second Team for his performance as pitcher and at third base.
The slugger had a .356 batting average while knocking three home runs and 21 hits in 59 at bats. He also drove in 27 runs and smacked six doubles as well. Herrmann has committed to play baseball at Cowley Community College next year.
“It’s always nice when your best player is your best worker and that’s who Jarrett was,” Iola head coach Levi Ashmore said. “He’s the kind of kid that puts his head down and tries to get better every day. He was always looking at how to get better every day no matter what.”
Korbin Cloud took All-State Second Team as an infielder and received Honorable Mention for his work on the mound at pitcher.
Cloud, a junior, had a team-high batting average of .474 while driving in 17 runs and collecting a team-high 27 hits in 57 at bats. He also mashed a home run and four doubles while playing in all 18 games.
“Korbin improved his hitting significantly over the last year. I knew right away he would be a good defensive player,” said Ashmore. “He was arguably our best hitter and I wouldn’t want to pitch to him. I think his presence at the plate and on defense was great. He didn’t care where he played. This year I feel like he was our guy at the plate and on the mound.”
The Mustang may have been even more impressive on the mound where he went 3-0 with a 2.42 ERA. Across 37.2 innings pitched, Cloud allowed only 13 earned runs on 30 hits.
Brandon McKarnin earned All-State Honorable Mention for his play both at the plate, in the outfield and on the mound.
A senior, McKarnin, was the only hitter to collect hits in the 1-0 playoff loss to Baldwin and recorded a .417 batting average, good for second on the team, as well as knocking 25 hits and driving in 18 runs in 60 at bats.
“When Brandon’s approach was right he was really hard to get out,” Ashmore said. “He got to a point where he was tearing it up and he hit his stride when he needed to at the end of the year. If we had anyone else produce like he did in that Baldwin game, that game could have gone a lot differently.”
Herrmann and Cloud were named to the Pioneer All-League First Team. McKarnin along with Mac Leonard, Landon Weide and Tre Wilson earned All-League Second Team honors.
Leonard was one of Iola’s best pitchers with a 1.94 ERA and collected a 2-1 record. He also allowed only 17 runs all season, 10 of those runs were earned while striking out 22 batters and walking only 10.
“Mac was awesome all year long on the mound and I was really hoping he’d make a push for All-State with the numbers he put up pitching wise,” said Ashmore. “He didn’t strike a lot of guys out which I think is what impresses most about him on the mound. He was able to have really good outings and keep teams down without striking them out.”
