Crest High’s baseball program barely skipped a beat after losing a star-studded senior class from 2023, a group that sent four players off to play collegiately.
All the newly rebuilt Lancers did was rack up another 20-win season, and qualified for the Class 2-1A State Baseball tournament, the team’s third state trip over the past four years.
The Lancers have once again racked up postseason accolades aplenty.
Six Crest players earned All-Three Rivers League recognition: first-teamers Ryan Golden, Logan Kistner, Jerry Rodriguez, Rogan Weir and Drake Weir, and Henry White, who was named second-team all-league.
On top of that, Rogan Weir and Rodriguez both earned first-team all-state honors from the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches (KABC) in Class 2-1A in their year-end poll. Golden, meanwhile, earned second-team all-state recognition from KABC.
Marmaton Valley and Yates Center’s baseball teams also garnered league honors. For Marmaton Valley, Tyler Lord was named All-Three Rivers League-first team, while Smith was voted to the second team.
Yates Center’s Kaiden Rutherford also received second-team all-league recognition.
LEADING the charge for the Lancers were seniors Rodriguez, Golden and Rogan Weir.
Rodriguez racked up a 500 batting average (38 of 76) with eight doubles, a triple, two home runs, 29 RBIs, 35 runs and 12 stolen bases. He also went 3-1 on the mound, allowing 18 hits over 23 innings with 47 strikeouts.
Rogan Weir, who also earned all-state honors last year as a junior, had a whopping 49 RBIs in 2024, hitting .443 (39 of 88) with 10 doubles, four triples and three home runs. He also scored 46 runs and stole 12 bases.
On the mound, he racked up 43 strikeouts over 25.2 innings of work.
Golden hit a team-high five home runs, hitting .417 with 37 RBIs and 40 runs. He also had five doubles and six stolen bases. Golden also was part of the Lancer pitching staff, going 4-1 with a 3.54 ERA. He tallied up 62 strikeouts over 27.2 innings pitched.
Kistner, a senior, hit .425 (31 of 73), with eight doubles, a home run, 31 RBIs and 44 runs. He also stole seven bases. In limited activity on the mound, Kistner scattered five hits over 8.1 innings, while allowing just one earned run, which equates to an 0.84 ERA.
A pair of sophomores round out Crest’s all-league honorees.
Drake Weir, hit .370 (30 of 81), with five doubles, a home run and 32 RBIs, with 30 runs and seven stolen bases. He also became one of the Lancers’ leading pitchers down the stretch. He compiled a 3.50 ERA over 22 innings, striking out 28.
