Prep Baseball- The Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association released the All-District teams for 2025 for all four classes and 12 of our local team’s players found a spot on the First Team for Southeast Iowa, as selected by the head coaches from each district.
Class 1A
Burlington Notre Dame
Burlington Notre Dame led the charge for the First Team in the Southeast District with Payne Prottsman (pitcher), Landry Haberichter (outfield), and Eli Oleson (utility). The Nikes were knocked out in the District 10 semifinals and finished the season with a 16-10 record.
Payne Prottsman, a junior, has been pitching for the Nikes since his freshman season but this year he was the certified ace for the squad, dealing his fourth straight season of sub-3 ERA ball.
Prottsman was even better than that stat indicates. The junior finished the season with a 9-2 record on the mound with a 1.29 ERA, striking out 57 for the season. Prottsman allowed only seven earned runs in his 38 innings pitched, keeping opponents to a batting average of 0.146.
Eli Oleson and Landry Haberichter finished first and second on the team in batting average, respectively, with averages of 0.453 and 0.437. Oleson took the term clean-up hitter literally with seven doubles and four homeruns producing 44 RBIs, 23 more than the next Nike.
Coincidentally, the next Nike was Haberichter, who had nine doubles, one triple, and one home run along with 22 walks for an on-base percentage of 0.584 to lead the team. Both were speedsters on the basepath with Oleson nabbing 18 bags and Haberichter stealing 26 bases.
Additionally, Haberichter committed just two errors on the season. Notre Dame will be happy to have them back for their senior campaigns.
Grabbing spots on the Second Team were Jeremiah Crow (1st Base), the lone senior, and sophomore Maddox Diewold (utility). Crow finished the year with 20 RBIs and led the team with 17 hit-by-pitches, while Diewold finished the season with a batting average north of 0.400.
New London
The Tiger senior class were freshman when New London won the state championship in 2022 and there was a quiet determination amongst the group that they would attempt to make it back. Unfortunately, the dream ended at the District Championship, but the Tigers did get back to their winning ways with a 15-10 record.
A big reason for their success was senior superstar Memphis Watson, the lone First Team selection for the outfield. Watson did it all with a slash line of 0.500/0.590/0.671 to go along with his 20 RBIs and six double and four triples.
On the basepath, Watson broke the single season school record with 42 stolen bases for the season as he crossed home plate 35 times. He also turned in a 2.44 ERA on the mound with 30 strikeouts for a 4-3 record in 37.1 innings of work.
On the Second Team, seniors Gavin Menke-Bailey (shortstop) and Tate Welcher (catcher) earned a spot. Menke-Bailey hit for average this season with a 0.403 batting average, knocking in a team-leading 24 RBIs. Welcher tossed out 23 runners from behind the plate, while hitting 0.347 and supplying 17 RBIs of his own.
Van Buren County
The Warriors finished the season with a 9-15 record, which featured close games throughout the season including a one-run loss to Martensdale-St. Marys. Izaak Loeffler finished his career with a First Team nod as a utility.
Loeffler was a force at the plate with a 0.452 average and led the team with 16 RBIs and seven doubles. The senior also stole 29 bags and led the team with a 3.06 ERA, notching 16 strikeouts.
For a full list follow this link: Class 1A All-District Teams
Class 2A
Mediapolis
Without much surprise, Mediapolis led the pack with two First Team nods as the Bulldogs finished the season as Southeast Iowa Super Conference South Champions, District Champions, Substate Champions, and State Qualifiers for the second time in school history.
Collecting 11 of the team’s 27 victories was First Team pitcher Lance Ludens. The senior was nearly unhittable with a 1.09 ERA and 0.72 WHIP in his nearly 70 innings of work. Ludens had a six-game run where he tossed 45 strikeouts in 39.2 innings for a 0.35 ERA.
Additionally, the senior had not allowed a run in his last four starts leading up to the state tournament, including a no-hitter against Durant. He also led the team with a 0.526 batting average, while knocking in 25 runs.
Also finding a spot on the First Team was Kyler Crow as an outfielder. The junior batted 0.410 and slugged 0.663 with two home runs, four triples, and seven doubles for 30 RBIs. He hit the go-ahead solo home run against MFL MarMac in the Substate Championship contest.
Earning a spot on the Second Team was junior Will Luttenegger at 3rd base. Luttenegger had the range of a second baseman over at the hot corner resulting in some web gems. Moreover, Luttenegger used that speed to lead the team in stolen bases with 25. The junior also hit 0.330 for the season with more walks (20) than strikeouts (15).
West Burlington
The Falcons were bounced in the first round of the postseason to finish the season with an 8-12 record, but not because of the effort displayed by First Team utility member Brock Thuleen.
Thuleen had another season batting over 0.400 as he placed second on the team with 16 RBIs to go along with his 0.636 slugging percentage with six doubles, which led the team, and two home runs, tied for the team lead. He also stole 22 bases and pitched 24 innings for a 5.54 ERA.
For a full list follow the link: Class 2A All-District Teams
Class 3A
Fairfield
The Southeast Conference (SEC) champs for the second consecutive year produced a 21-11 overall record and a 13-2 record against the conference. With that success on the diamond, recognition was quick to follow as SEC Player of the Year Dain Burkhart was named First Team Pitcher.
Burkhart tossed 54.2 innings for an 8-2 record, allowing a 0.234 opponent batting average. He pitched to contact with only 28 strikeouts, but the weak contact resulted in outs and a 2.18 ERA and only a 1.12 WHIP. His accuracy was exceptional with only nine free bases allowed.
Furthermore, Burkhart also raked in 24 RBIs with a 0.391 batting average.
Luke Konczal made the First Team as a 1st baseman. The senior went off at the plate, leading the squad in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, and doubles with 12. He also had a triple and two home runs, racking up 24 RBIs in the process.
The last Trojan to make the First Team was Aiden Westercamp in the outfield. The junior batted 0.394 and led the team with 40 RBIs on nine doubles and a triple, while swiping 15 bases. He had a 0.955 fielding percentage and even caught a Panther base runner trying to score a run during their postseason bout to keep the game tied at one.
Dayson Workman found a spot on the Second Team as the junior led the team with 29 walks and had 24 RBIs of his own on nine doubles and a home run.
Mt. Pleasant
The Panthers finished third in the conference and 17-12 overall for their third consecutive winning season. Their lone First Teamer was catcher Payton Walker. If he was not pitching, then you could find the senior behind the plate.
Walker would catch five would-be steals, bringing his total to 13 over the past two seasons. The most impressive aspect of his game was his ability to get on base. He finished second on the team with 14 walks and 20 hit-by-pitches, bringing his career total to 52, just two behind the school record. He also brought home 26 runs at the plate.
The guy who led the team in batting average and on-base percentage with marks of 0.414 and 0.553, respectively, was senior Brayton Hutson, who was Second Team 2nd baseman. The senior clocked a triple and three doubles for 18 RBIs and stole five bases. Additionally, he produced a 0.926 fielding percentage.
For a full list follow the link: Class 3A All-District Teams
Class 4A
Burlington watched the conference slip through their fingertips as the Grayhounds finished with an 18-14 record for the season, losing 3-2 to Fairfield in the winner-takes-all showdown for the SEC.
Logan Messer (1st base), Caden Zaugg (outfield), and Evan Hecox (utility) made the Second Team. Messer slapped a 0.423 batting average to go along with a 0.568 on-base percentage. Zaugg led the team with 25 RBIs as he had five doubles. Lastly, Hecox hit 0.299 and picked up three wins on the mound with a 2.08 ERA, leading the team with 42 strikeouts.
For a full list follow the link: Class 4A All-District Teams
