Photo by Samantha Davis. Russell-Tyler-Ruthton coach Danny Moffitt (left) hi-fives senior Chase Christianson (right) after hitting a triple on May 28 in the Section 3A quarterfinals at Milroy's Yankee Field. Moffitt led RTR to its first Class A State Tournament appearance in program history, while claiming a 20-8 overall record, and has been named the Independent's 2025 Baseball Coach of the Year.

RUTHTON — Upon winning sections out of the elimination bracket and leading the Russell-Tyler-Ruthton baseball team to its first-ever Class A State Tournament appearance in program history in his second season as head coach, Danny Moffitt has been named the Independent’s 2025 Baseball Coach of the Year.

“I knew we had the talent, and we knew what we needed to do from last year,” Moffitt said. “We started learning how to play our game and learn the game of baseball. I knew it was going to be a good season.”

RTR went on an exhilarating postseason run, winning the Section 3A Tournament as the three-seed after defeating No. 1 Dawson-Boyd in the elimination bracket final and taking down No. 2 Yellow Medicine East in a pair of doubleheader wins in the championship.

The Knights were initially dropped to the elimination final after first falling to YME in the semifinals, 7-6.

RTR still needed to defeat the Sting twice in a row heading into the championship round. YME was looking to make its second state tournament appearance in three years after walking off RTR in the 2023 section final. This time around, the Knights defied the odds and won both games by dominant margins of 15-5 and 18-3 victories on June 5 to earn their first trip to state.

“We were gritty [in sections]. Tyler Wichmann sure stepped up on that mound, and so did Eli [Determan] in that last game. We found that everybody was seeing the ball and hitting the ball. It was a really fun time in that section tournament,” Moffitt said. “We’re still pretty humble [about going to state] … I think we know what it takes to get there, and we will keep on working.”

RTR earned the No. 7 seed at state, and fell to No. 2 New Ulm Cathedral 6-2 in the quarterfinals to move to the consolation bracket. The Knights defeated No. 6 Hayfield 8-1, which ended up being RTR’s final game of the season after inclement weather cancelled the consolation final, along with the tournament’s third place game.

Moffitt led RTR to a 20-8 overall record this season, a significant improvement from its 14-11 campaign in 2024.

“This game is like a chess game, especially with the pitch count thing now,” Moffitt said. “That’s what I really did [with balancing the team’s talents], to be honest with you. Through our schedule, that’s what really helped me, was keeping notes and figuring things out for the section and state.”

Starting the season with six consecutive wins, the Knights never lost more than two games in a row and recorded six double-digit wins.

Although Moffitt noted he was confident early on in the heights the 2025 team could reach, it was a stacked slate of games in early April when he felt his team’s growth was prevailing through pressure.

“When we had six games in seven days, we had the momentum. We won all of them, except that [Tuesday] against Adrian, they got us on the very end [6-3 on April 15],” Moffitt said. “We were in that depth, and people that were on the mound pitched up every time when we needed it, and just how that team held their composure. We learned from our mistakes every time we had a loss.”

Come next season, Moffitt will look to adjust with a new roster after graduating a large group of seven seniors who helped set the tone of program success. Gabriel Elton, Sean Griesse, Chase Christianson, Determan, Drew Chandler, Seth Cowell and Brooks Hess make up the senior class.

This year, RTR finished with an overall .327 batting average and .883 OPS. Several Knights helped balance the team’s strong offensive identity, including Brayden Chandler, Wichmann, Determan, Cowell, Griesse, Christianson and Gavin Schreurs.

Determan and Wichmann represented RTR on the mound with 49 and 43 innings pitched, respectively. Both tossed 59 strikeouts on the season, while Determan finished with a 3.14 ERA and Wichmann followed with a 3.55.

“That’s what summer ball is for. To be honest with you, I had a lot of guys that were on that bench that are just right behind them [seniors], and I’m very confident of what they can do,” Moffitt said in regard to next season’s expectations. “With this game, it’s anybody’s. We’re not going to take anything for granted. We’re going to have to really work hard, because there’s a lot of good teams down in our section.”

RTR athletic director and head softball coach Darren Baartman called Moffitt ahead of the 2024 season about the coaching vacancy. It took Moffitt about a week to decide whether to accept the job, coming in with years of assistant coaching and playing experience. He ultimately chose to accept the job after having a personal goal to be the head coach of a program one day.

“I’ve always been a coach my whole career, and you don’t see the outside looking in. There’s a lot more other things than just showing up to the ball game and giving a few pointers,” Moffitt said about what he’s learned in his first two years. “As the head coach, [it’s] a lot of responsibilities … For every head coach that’s been doing [this] for more than a couple years, I tip my hat off to them.”

Moffitt also expressed deep gratitude to those around him that played significant roles in RTR’s breakout season, including assistant coaches AJ Anderson and Cody King, Baartman and Grant Wichmann, along with all the parents and City of Ruthton for their support.

“If I’m on a baseball field, I’m having fun. I’ll tell you that right now, and I do every minute. If anybody ever wants to talk baseball, I’ll talk baseball,” Moffitt said. “The community, the school, the parents and everybody has been so supportive and let me in. It’s been a fun journey so far.”