Powerful impact: Mount Si Baseball’s T-Lane gets ESPN state nod; Other honors pile up for ‘12 Wildcats

Mount Si High School senior pitcher and first baseman Trevor Lane got a rare honor last week. Lane was named ESPN High School’s Washington Baseball Player of the Year, sponsored by Gatorade. In making the Player of the Year selections, the ESPNHS organization looks at athletic impact in the season, personal character and exemplary academics.

June 6, 2012 2:40 pm
Mount Si’s Trevor Lane winds up for a pitch during the 2012 season. Lane was named ESPNHS’ Gatorade Washington Player of the Year
Mount Si’s Trevor Lane winds up for a pitch during the 2012 season. Lane was named ESPNHS’ Gatorade Washington Player of the Year

Mount Si High School senior pitcher and first baseman Trevor Lane got a rare honor last week.

Lane was named ESPN High School’s Washington Baseball Player of the Year, sponsored by Gatorade.

In making the Player of the Year selections, the ESPNHS organization looks at athletic impact in the season, personal character and exemplary academics.

This spring, Lane was 7-1 on the mound with 77 strikeouts in nearly 49 innings. He’s a 2011 first-team all-state selectee, who happened to bat .446 with 19 RBIs, 23 runs and 11 stolen bases—all while maintaining a 3.18 grade-point average. Lane also volunteers for the Foodball campaign to help Mount Si Food Bank, and is a youth coach.

Lane thinks his nomination is all about his dual offensive and defensive skills.

He’s proud of the recognition. He has signed with Western Nevada Community College, but is starting to get Division 1 college inquiries. Brother Robb Lane is at Central Washington University, but Lane is thinking the South might be an interesting place to play.

Looking back in the past season, he’ll remember “the strides we made… We got real strong as a team.”

“It’s a tremendous honor for Trevor,” Mount Si head coach Elliott Cribby told the Record.

According to ESPNHS, Kamiakin head coach Ryan Carter described Lane as the best player the Kennewick team faced all year.

“He plays a great centerfield, too, and in the game we faced them, he threw a runner out at home to end the game. He is absolutely a well-rounded ballplayer,” the coach was quoted.

Mount Si was the KingCo title holder this year, going 20-4 and competing in the state playoffs. Lane was a league MVP winner with a league first-team award. Head coach Elliott Cribby was coach of the year, and senior pitchers Reece Karalus and Trevor Taylor and outfielder Joe Cotto were second-team honorees. Catcher Zach Usselman, shortstop Ryan Atkinson, infielder Carson Breshears and outfielder Daniel Besmer had honorable mentions.

While Mount Si was unable to claim another state trophy—Cribby said he’d trade his coach of the year honors for another set of team rings—the ranked Wildcats did a great tremendous job handling a challenging season.

“We played with the target on our backs all year,” Cribby said. “It’s something to be proud of.”

For the future, Mount Si reloads with a core of experienced seniors. Breshears, Cotto, Connor Swift and Gunnar Buhner are expected to take to the field in 2013, and Usselman may take the mound, spelled at the plate by Joe Done, who got some time at varsity at catcher.

Cribby praised the Valley at large for the support it’s given his teams over two years, calling it a great place to coach.

Follow Mount Si baseball at mtsihsbaseball.com.