Taft High senior baseball players Caleb King, Josh Salsbery and Jack Stempel have been named first-team Class 3A All-State, while sophomore catcher Eli DeMello joined them as a first-team all-West Valley League selection.
Taft coach Matt Hilgers, whose No. 1-ranked Tigers went 22-4 overall and 12-0 in winning the regular-season conference championship, was named West Valley League Coach of the Year. The baseball team was recognized with the school’s Champion of Character award for Team of the Year.
Salsbery was selected first-team All-State at shortstop for his fielding and.482 (.465 league) average with 40 hits, 44 runs and 18 steals.
“Eli was solid for us behind the plate and kept many runners at bay on the bases,” Hilgers said. “He hit really well for us, especially early on. I felt like Eli should have been second-team All-State.”
Despite accolades for many of his players, Hilgers said he believed some weren’t adequately recognized. He shouldered the blame for that.
“Overall, I felt like I didn’t do a very good job of selling our players at the all-league meeting,” he said. “I think the Player of the Year in our league should have come from our team. I didn’t do a good job of selling this, though.”
Santiam Christian senior Grant Carley was named first-team All-State and conference Player of the Year for the second straight season.
“The three guys that had a chance to get it [King, Salsbery and Stempel] I have apologized to, and I take most the blame for us not having the Player of the Year,” he said. “I also felt like we had a couple guys that deserved to be higher up in all-league. I have a biased opinion on this, though.”
Taft’s Danneker first-team All-State, three others first-team all-league