Ankeny Centennial’s Reed Anderson and Isaac Bruhl are planning to play football in college, but the duo didn’t want to skip their final baseball season in order to focus on the gridiron.
Anderson and Bruhl are among six returning starters for the Jaguars, who will open their season on Monday with a non-conference doubleheader at Des Moines Roosevelt.
“So far I’m very happy with the effort the players are putting in,” said Centennial coach Mark Hey. “In May practices can get pretty lengthy, but all the athletes are working hard and making great improvements each day. I’m impressed with their attitudes and their hustle.”
Bruhl, who is headed to Iowa Western, is the team’s top returning player. A shortstop, he helped lead the Jaguars to a 29-11 record last season.
Bruhl batted a team-high .378 with two triples, eight doubles and 15 RBIs. He also led Centennial with 45 hits, 35 singles and 17 stolen bases.
Bruhl was named to the Class 4A all-state first team by the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association. He was a unanimous pick to the CIML Conference first team and was also selected to the Class 4A North Central all-district first team.
Anderson, who will play for Drake, batted .341 with five RBIs in 15 starts as a junior. He will play left field and also see some action on the mound, where he pitched three scoreless innings a year ago.
Centennial’s other returning starters are seniors Kohen Bollwinkel and Jackson Reed along with juniors Will Morris and Eli Starr. Bollwinkel was a third-team all-conference selection last season, while Morris and Reed both received honorable mention.
Bollwinkel, a right fielder, batted .306 with two triples and 18 RBIs while scoring a team-high 30 runs. He has committed to play for Southwestern Community College.
Reed, who is also a key member of the Centennial boys’ track team, will focus primarily on that sport until after next weekend’s state meet. Then, he’ll use his speed to play center field for the Jaguars.
Reed batted .273 with nine doubles and 12 RBIs last year. He has committed to play for Wartburg College along with senior catcher Josh Quinlin.
Morris, a third baseman, batted .302 with two doubles and nine RBIs. Starr, a second baseman, is also back after starting 11 games.
Those two are the squad’s top returning pitchers as well. Morris posted a 5-2 record with a 2.60 ERA and racked up 32 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innings, while Starr went 1-1 with a 4.80 ERA in 11 2/3 innings of work.
“We don’t have a lot of varsity game experience returning, but we play 20-25 JV games each season and we have a lot of returning players who had a very successful season at the JV level last year and got some valuable experience in those games,” Hey said.
Junior Colton Arndt will also see a lot of time on the mound after going 0-1 with a 4.32 ERA last season. He has committed to play for St. Thomas.
Three other Jaguars will also play at the collegiate level next year despite limited varsity experience. Pitcher/outfielder TJ Hood is headed to Simpson College, first baseman Grant Crowner will play for Central, and pitcher/outfielder Darin Severs will become part of Northeast Iowa Community College’s new program.
“We have a very excited and hungry group of juniors and seniors who are anxious to show how well they play baseball,” Hey said. “We also have some very talented underclassmen who can contribute right away. Obviously the CIML is a challenging conference to play in, but I’m excited to see what these guys can do against such great competition.”
