“What made this team special was 100% the group of guys. We were like a family, and we put in a lot of hard work, even in the offseason. Everybody was just committed,” Schneider said of the recognition. “I just want to thank everybody on the team … They are amazing.”

Schneider especially thanked the Rebels’ coaching staff; head coach Paul Counter and assistants James Wajer, Tarry Boelter and Matt Ackerman.

Being one of the best two-way players in the region, Schneider was nearly unstoppable at both the plate and on the mound. He led the area with an exceptional .215 ERA and 83 strikeouts, and defiantly went undefeated with an 11-0 pitching record this season. Additionally, Schneider allowed just two earned runs the entire year through his 65 innings pitched.

The path to Schneider’s breakout season was a long time coming. Already being an established player for the Rebels since joining the varsity squad in seventh grade, now a junior, he has continued to find ways to elevate his pitching and hitting talent. But, perhaps the past year for Schneider was one of his most pivotal, requiring him to overcome hard adversity.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Murray County Central's Krew Schneider throws a pitch during the Section 3A championship on June 4 at the Irish Yard in Milroy.

Seeing all the success Schneider achieved on the mound is especially remarkable, being that he did not pitch a single inning last year after sustaining a torn labrum during football season.

But, instead of falling to fear, Schneider worked to overcome the physical and mental adversity of the injury. Fast forward to a year later, he didn’t just pick up where he left off; Schneider pushed himself to new heights this season that ultimately resulted in MCC history.

“I think how I managed it [the injury] was during the offseason, it took a lot of work to get back to where I wanted to be for pitching. During the winter, I was pitching to the best of my ability, and that’s what helped me a lot. I gained back strength and stuff like that in my arms,” Schneider said of returning to pitching this year. “My personal expectations [this season] were just to go out there, do the best I could without any arm pain and just do what I could for the team.”

While Schneider noted he has been playing baseball for as long as he can remember, also growing up as a pitcher, getting cleared to make his return to the mound this season was an emotional completion in a long road of recovery.

“It took a lot [to get back]. Pitching was always my favorite thing about baseball, so getting out there just was amazing for me,” Schneider said. “I was just happy to be out there, and then to pitch as good as I did, it was amazing.”

Photo by Samantha Davis: Murray County Central's Krew Schneider chases down the ball in the Class A State Tournament quarterfinals at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud on June 12.

As dominant as he is pitching, Schneider is also a force to be reckoned with at the plate. He led the area with five home runs this season, while also leading MCC with 37 RBIs, a 1.090 OPS and a .625 SLUG. Additionally, he only struck out six times in his 99 plate appearances, which was only behind Teague Meyer’s four strikeouts in 103 at-bats.

“I think what helped me elevate my offensive game was just the work we had with the team. Just every single day, going through the motions, same thing over and over again, and just trying to protect [the plate],” Schneider said.

While he was unable to pitch last season, Schneider still found his role and batted for the Rebels where he had one home run and 29 RBIs in 70 plate appearances. He also made the Independent’s All-Area second team last year.

“We had high expectations for him [Schneider] as far as batting and stuff goes, because he was able to do that last year. But, he put in a lot of time to strengthen his arm and his recovery, and he prepared himself for this year,” Counter said of Schneider. “What he did was just tremendous. He had a year that’s probably among the best ever at MCC.”

With all of MCC’s success this season, Schneider also credited the team’s defense.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Murray County Central's Krew Schneider connects for a hit in the Class A State Tournament quarterfinals at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud on June 12.

Not much could get past the Rebels’ field defense. But, when an error would occur or when the Rebels’ had to step up a bit more to support their pitcher, it was always a cohesive effort.

“I think my team helped me a lot in the pressured situations,” Schneider said. “They calmed me down, they calmed everybody down. With our team, I mean, making mistakes is not a big deal. They have your back all the time, and you just know that your infield is going to do the job. So, that’s what takes the pressure off … Our defense was just phenomenal.”

In terms of defense, if Dugan Kluis wasn’t on the mound himself, he was the team’s primary catcher and worked hand-in-hand with Schneider on the mound.

“The partnership [with Kluis] was great. We had some miscommunications during the year, but it was amazing,” Schneider said, laughing. “I wouldn’t have asked for anybody else behind the plate. He is amazing.”

Kluis also added to the Rebels’ extreme pitching depth alongside Meyer. Kluis tossed 51 strikeouts on a .553 ERA in 38 innings, while Meyer retired 69 batters with a 1.67 ERA in his 46 innings. The duo also joined Schneider on the Independent’s All-Area first team this season.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Murray County Central's Krew Schneider scores a run during the Section 3A semifinals on May 30 at the Irish Yard in Milroy.

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

The list is long for everything MCC accomplished over the year. Along with winning the section title and ultimately bringing home state-tournament hardware with a third-place finish, the Rebels cruised through the entire season and surrendered just two losses.

“The expectations we had at the beginning of the season were to obviously go to the section finals, and we went there and we won it. So, that was exceeding our expectations there, and then going to state was a big, big expectation,” Schneider said.

Schneider also pin-pointed winning the section title as one of his favorite memories to come from this season, joking that it took a bit for the team to realize what they had fully accomplished after receiving the championship trophy before going to celebrate in the outfield.

“My favorite memory was 100% winning the session finals. That was amazing, and we were all happy, even though we didn’t look that way after the game, but we were stunned,” Schneider said, laughing.

Photo by Samantha Davis: Murray County Central's Krew Schneider (center) fist bumps his teammates on the way to the dugout between innings in the Class A State Tournament quarterfinals at Joe Faber Field in St. Cloud on June 12.

Getting to play at the state tournament field in St. Cloud was a historic moment for the Rebels this season as well, being the first time since 2001. Notably, MCC also pulled the walk-off quarterfinal win with a Gabe Tentinger hit on bases loaded en route to the Rebels’ third-place finish.

Schneider also pitched a complete game in the quarterfinals to get MCC started at state, striking out eight batters.

“It was an amazing feeling [playing at state], for the whole team. They all thought that was amazing, and we knew we still had to do our best,” Schneider said. “We didn’t want to just get to state, we wanted to win those games, too. We were very happy to be there.”

While already achieving so much in his career, Schneider still has another year in pocket for his senior season. Along with baseball and football, he also is a center for the basketball team.

Schneider still has goals for himself to continue honing in on, noting that he wants to improve his command pitching and throwing in the zone even more. Although he’s got a variety of options he can reliably toss, he mentioned his current favorite pitch is his slider, as he throws that the most.

After all, the Schneider family is rooted in MCC athletic success. Freshman Finn Schneider, Krew’s younger brother, is also on the varsity baseball team while their older sister Thea Schneider, who graduated last year, was a stellar pitcher for the softball team and earned an Independent first-team selection last year.

While this season was special, and will be one to remember for Schneider, there is still more to come from the rising prodigy.

“[This season] felt great to us. It’s been a long time since MCC has made it, and it is a big thing for us, and a big thing for our school and community,” Schneider said. “And, we have some great expectations for next year, too.”