The Independent announced its 2026 All-Area baseball teams on Wednesday, with Section 3A champions and state tournament participants Murray County Central earning three first-team selections, along with Marshall and Yellow Medicine East each earning a pair.

The 2026 Baseball Player of the Year and Coach of the Year will be announced in Thursday’s edition of the Independent.

The Rebels made it a season to remember after winning the Section 3A title, allowing just one run the entire tournament, to earn a spot in the Class A State Tournament for the first time in over two decades.

Krew Schneider, Teague Meyer and Dugan Kluis all earned first-team nods, and are partnered with Tristan Behrends on second team and Carson Lewis on third team.

Schneider led the area’s pitching with a .215 ERA and 83 strikeouts through his 65 innings. Additionally, he went undefeated on the mound this year, going 11-0. He allowed just two earned runs the entire season, and also finished with a .738 WHIP.

Moving up from his second-team nomination last season, Schneider also had plenty of success at the plate with a team-high five home runs and 37 RBIs, and struck out just six times in his 99 plate appearances. He finished with a .375 batting average, was amongst the top of the area with a 1.090 OPS, and had an area second-best .625 SLUG.

Russell-Tyler-Ruthton’s Tyler Wichmann repeats as a first-team selection, after leading the area with a 1.217 OPS and .641 SLUG, along with a trio of home runs. He also was one of the Knights’ best pitchers, tossing 72 strikeouts on a 2.49 ERA.

Meyer repeats as a first-team selection for the Independent this season, after being one of the area’s best hitters once again. He finished this season with just four strikeouts in his 103 plate appearances as the Rebels’ leadoff batter.

Meyer helped lead MCC with a .388 batting average and a 1.012 OPS, along with team-highs of 37 runs and 13 stolen bases. He also had plenty of success pitching-wise, finishing the season 4-1 on the mound with 69 strikeouts, a 1.67 ERA and 0.891 WHIP. Notably, he also walked just eight batters.

Both Meyer and Schneider were named to the Class A All-State team by the Minnesota State High School League Baseball Coaches Association this year.

Kluis was another pivotal player for MCC this season, who split duties of both catching and pitching. He recorded an area second-best, only behind Schneider, .55 ERA with 51 strikeouts in his 38 innings on the mound. Additionally at the plate, he had four home runs and finished with a .325 batting average and .550 SLUG to also be one of the Rebels’ leading hitters.

Kluis was also a second-team selection for the Independent last season.

Leading the first team for Marshall is Eli Alcorn and Andrew Stelter, who were also named to the Class AAA All-State team. Alcorn was among the area’s best pitchers, while Stelter was the same at the plate along with being a reliable infield defender for the Tigers.

Alcorn led Marshall with a 1.157 ERA and 0.969 WHIP, striking out 49 batters to finish with a 6-1 record on the season.

Stelter, who earned a third-team nod last season, was the Tigers’ leadoff batter and also among the top of the area with a 1.095 OPS.

In addition to his .370 batting average, Stelter made it a point to not waver at the plate, leading the area after being hit by a pitch 16 times to tie with MCC’s Gabe Tentinger, who also was hit 16 times when batting.

Marshall’s Noah Pieper and Andrew Lee were also named to the second team with their pitching success. Pieper recorded a 1.63 ERA with 60 strikeouts, as did Lee with a 2.67 ERA and 43 strikeouts to help lead the Tigers’ to a 20-win season.

Levi Maeyaert and JR Vierstraete were also two of Marshall’s most prominent hitters, earning them both third-team selections.

Dawson-Boyd’s Kameron Sather, this season’s Camden Conference MVP, also earned a first-team nod this year. He was named to the third team last year.

The Blackjacks also held plenty of talent, again earning the North’s top-seed in the Section 3A Tournament, and made a run to the semifinals.

Sather was a defensive force at third base when he wasn’t pitching, but was also one of the Blackjacks’ leading hitters. He finished with a team-high 1.074 OPS and 30 runs, to pair with his .536 SLUG.

Notably, one of Dawson-Boyd’s biggest talents is its attentiveness on the base paths. Sather led the entire area with 25 stolen bases, while second-teamer Colten Bothun had 14 and third-teamers Nate Hansen and Holland Schacherer combined for another 32.

Dawson-Boyd collectively recorded 128 stolen bases to lead the area, by a large margin.

Sather also saw 30 innings on the mound, and finished with a 2.10 ERA with 28 strikeouts.

Yellow Medicine East’s Gunnar Fagen and Drew Monson also had area-leading season campaigns to earn first-team selections.

The two saw ample amounts of success at the plate, and paired alongside the area’s best OPS and SLUG averages.

Monson finished the season with a 1.125 OPS and .625 SLUG, the area’s second-best behind Wichmann. Monson also had four homers on the year, and walked 23 times, along with 30 runs and 14 stolen bases.

Fagen had an area second-best OPS of 1.133, behind only Wichmann and Monson, along with a .621 SLUG.

Adding to his 28 RBIs and .409 batting average, Fagen also recorded a 2.72 ERA and 1.44 WHIP on the mound, with 52 strikeouts.

Lane Wohlman earned a second-team selection for the Sting as well, between his 2.26 ERA and batting success.

RTR’s Gavin Schreurs joined Wichmann to represent the Knights with a second-team nod with a team-best 1.45 ERA and 79 strikeouts.

Minneota earned a trio of All-Area selections, with Carson Javers and Creed Stassen both named to the second team and Mason Javers on third team. Javers was also named to this year’s Class A All-State team.

Canby’s Jace Rangaard was named to the second team, while Tracy-Milroy-Balaton’s Connor Lanoue, Wabasso’s Jack Burns and Red Rock Central/Westbrook-Walnut Grove’s Jackson Jenniges rounded out the third team.

FIRST TEAM

(Listed in alphabetical order, slash lines represent batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage)

Eli Alcorn, Marshall

42.1 IP, 6-1, SV, 1.157 ERA, 0.969 WHIP, 49 SO, 16 BB

Gunnar Fagen, YME

36 IP, 4-2, 2.72 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 52 SO, 12 BB

82 PA, .409/.512/.621 (1.133 OPS), HR, 3B, 9 2B, 28 RBI, 13 R, 11 BB, 4 SB

Dugan Kluis, MCC

99 PA, .325/.444/.550, (.994 OPS), 4 HR, 6 2B, 27 RBI, 11 R, 10 BB, 7 SB

38 IP, 7-1, 0.55 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, 51 SO, 12 BB

Teague Meyer, MCC

103 PA, .388/.471/.541 (1.012 OPS), HR, 10 2B, 19 RBI, 37 R, 14 BB, 4 SO, 13 SB

46 IP, 4-1, SV, 1.67 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 69 SO, 8 BB

Drew Monson, YME

90 PA, .312/.500/.625 (1.125 OPS), 4 HR, 3B, 6 2B, 15 RBI, 30 R, 23 BB, 14 SB

Kam Sather, Dawson-Boyd

93 PA, .377/.538/.536 (1.074 OPS), 4 2B, 2 3B, HR, 18 RBI, 30 R, 22 BB, 25 SB

30 IP, 7-2, 28 SO, 14 BB, 2.100 ERA, 1.267 WHIP

Krew Schneider, MCC

99 PA, .375/.465/.625 (1.090 OPS), 2 2B, 5 HR, 37 RBI, 19 R, 14 BB, 6 SO

PITCHING: 65 IP, 11-0, 27 H, 2ER, 21 BB, 83 SO, 0.215 ERA, 0.738 WHIP

Andrew Stelter, Marshall

106 PA, .370/.514/.580 (1.095 OPS), 2 HR, 3 3B, 5 2B, 11 RBI, 29 R, 8 BB, 16 SB, 16 HBP

Tyler Wichmann, RTR

93 PA, .391/.576/.641 (1.217 OPS), 3 HR, 7 2B, 20 RBI, 23 R, 20 BB, 4 SB

39.1 IP, 3-1, 3 SV, 2.49 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 72 SO, 14 BB

SECOND TEAM

Tristan Behrends, MCC

95 PA, .408/.500/.474 (.974 OPS), 3 2B, 3B, 20 RBI, 27 R, 14 BB, 11 SB

9.2 IP, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.31 WHIP, 15 SO, 2 BB

Colten Bothun, Dawson-Boyd

95 PA, .267/.409/.440 (.849 OPS), 4 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 25 R, 16 BB, 14 SB

34 IP, 2-2, 40 SO, 23 BB, 1.223 ERA, 1.398 WHIP

Carson Javers, Minneota

71 PA, .386/.507/.579 (1.086 OPS), 6 2B, 1 3B, HR, 7 RBI, 14 R, 10 BB, 8 SB

40 IP, 1-0, 41 SO, 22 BB, 2.430 ERA, 1.165 WHIP

Andrew Lee, Marshall

39.1 IP, 4-0, 2.67 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 43 SO, 22 BB

63 PA, .280/.393/.320 (.713 OPS), 2 2B, 8 RBI, 10 R, 9 BB, 3 SB

Jace Rangaard, Canby

60 PA, .434/.500/.566 (1.066 OPS), 7 2B, 15 RBI, 7 R, BB, 8 SB

51 IP, 4-3, 3.29 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 48 SO, 17 BB

Noah Pieper, Marshall

38.2 IP, 6-1, SV, 1.63 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 60 SO, 14 BB

83 PA, .211/.313/.211 (.525 OPS), 9 RBI, 7 R, 9 BB, 2 SB

Gavin Schreurs, RTR

43.1 IP, 6-1, SV, 1.45 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 79 SO, 27 BB

95 PA, .286/.421/.312 (.733 OPS), 2 2B, 13 RBI, 24 R, 16 BB, 13 SB

Creed Stassen, Minneota

65 PA, .315/.431/.519 (.949 OPS), 5 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 8 R, 10 BB

31 IP, 2-1, 40 SO, 12 BB, .884 ERA, 1.105

Lane Wohlman, YME

31 IP, 2-2, SV, 2.26 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 26 SO, 13 BB

85 PA, .3128/.471/.388 (.859 OPS), 4 2B, 19 RBI, 9 R, 14 BB, 2 SB

THIRD TEAM

Jack Burns, Wabasso

75 PA, .303/.387/.394, 3 2B, 14 R, HR, 12 RBI, 7 BB, 10 SB

40 IP, 3-3, 1.74 ERA, 31 SO, 7 BB, 1.264 WHIP

Nate Hansen, Dawson-Boyd

88 PA, .434/.511/.526 (1.038 OPS), 5 2B, 22 RBI, 19 R, 10 BB, 17 SB

35 IP, 1-2, 33 SO, 4.200 ERA, 1.629 WHIP, 23 BB

Mason Javers, Minneota

60 PA, .340/.400/.491 (.891 OPS), 2 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 7 R, 4 BB, 4 SB

26 IP, 41 SO, 18 BB, 2.362 ERA, 1.312 WHIP

Jackson Jenniges, RRC/WWG

71 PA, .304/.437/.375 (.812 OPS), 7 R, 4 2B, 8 RBI, 13 BB

36 IP, 2-3, 3.28 ERA, 1.404 WHIP, 34 SO, 7 BB

Connor Lanoue, TMB

81 PA, .317/.463/.365 (.828 OPS), 3 2B, 10 RBI, 20 R, 14 BB, 10 SB

45 IP, 3-4, 2.453 ERA, 1.314 WHIP

Carson Lewis, MCC

92 PA, .364/.444/.545 (.990 OPS), 8 2B, 3 3B, 17 RBI, 20 R, 10 BB, 8 SB

Levi Maeyaert, Marshall

95 PA, .333/.415/.481 (.896 OPS), HR, 9 2B, 23 RBI, 6 R, 11 BB, SB

Holland Schacherer, Dawson-Boyd

87 PA, .377/.442/.545 (.987 OPS), 8 2B, 1 3B, HR, 26 RBI, 17 R, 8 BB, 15 SB

8 IP, 1-0, 12 SO, 1.750 ERA, 1.750 WHIP

JR Vierstraete, Marshall

66 PA, .375/.470/.554 (1.023 OPS), 2 HR, 4 2B, 23 RBI, 17 R, 6 BB, 8 SB

HONORABLE MENTION

Trae Bailey, Marshall; Braylon Breyfogle, Lakeview; Brayden Chandler, RTR; Jake Erickson, RRC/WWG; Noah Frazee, Marshall; Drew Kemp, Wabasso; Jackson Kruse, TMB; Eli Olson, Dawson-Boyd; Jayden Remiger, Wabasso; David Schuh, TMB; Jace Sigler, Canby; Morgen Tol, Canby; Braxton Weber, RRC/WWG.