The King’s Academy
Coach: Greg Mugg
2024 record: 18-11 (CCS Division II championship)
The bad news is that the Knights lost six starters from last year’s CCS- championship squad. However, the good news for 2025 is they return three of the PAL’s best players, including reigning league MVP Nate Plata.
Plata, a junior catcher and infielder, hit .443 last year with a pair of home runs and handled a high-end pitching staff flawlessly.
“I love playing baseball on this team,” Plata said. “I love playing with these guys, hanging out with them and being in the games.”
Senior southpaw Toby Trotter, is the ace of the pitching staff. He was a first-team selection on the all-league team after putting together a 2.14 earned-run average and hitting .338 while alternating at first base.
Thomas Castro will also pitch and play first base, while outfielder Ethan Johnson, King’s Academy’s first player to sign with a Southeastern Conference school after recently committing to Missouri, hit .349 with five homers and 21 RBIs.
Newcomers to watch include Dominic Myung (.375), Justin Cho (.343) and Tai Petersen (.311), who played at the junior varsity level last year. Ryan Wheeler was the top JV pitcher last year.
Members Discussion