By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Class 6A state tournament qualifier Topeka High, which ended a seven-decade state drought, and perennial 5A qualifier Seaman lead the TopSports.news 2023 All-Shawnee County baseball team.
Seaman senior pitcher/first baseman Bryson Vawter was named the 2023 Shawnee County player of the year after helping lead the Vikings to an 18-5 record and a state-record 19th straight trip to the state tourament.
Topeka High's Cody Miller was named the county coach of the year after leading the Trojans to a 16-7 record, capped by High's state tournament appearance, while Hayden sophomore Brady Heinen was named the newcomer of the year.
Vawter is joined on the All-Shawnee County first team by senior Cameron Selbach, junior Holden Finley and sophomore Max Huston while Topeka High is represented by senior Elijah Kincaid and juniors Isaiah Kincaid and Nate Plankinton.
Hayden put seniors Konnor Becker and Jackson Summers and sophomore Cooper Grace on the first team while Washburn Rural is represented by seniors Zach Sharshel and Ty Weber and junior Kyle Walker.
Shawnee Heights is represented on the all-county first team by senior Zack Cole and sophomore repeat pick Deacon Pomeroy while Silver Lake is represented by sophomore Dysen Schooler.
Vawter earned first-team All-Class 5A recognition from the Kansas Association of Baseball Coaches while Grace earned All-4A second-team recognition.
Walker received All-6A honorable mention from the KABC while Finley, Huston and Cole received honorable mention in 5A and Summers received honorable mention in 4A.
First team
Name, school Class
Konnor Becker, Hayden Sr.
Zack Cole, Shawnee Heights Sr.
Holden Finley, Seaman Jr.
Cooper Grace, Hayden So.
Max Huston, Seaman So.
Elijah Kincade, Topeka High Sr.
Isaiah Kincade, Topeka High Jr.
Nate Plankinton, Topeka High Jr.
Deacon Pomeroy, Shawnee Heights So.
Dysen Schooler, Silver Lake So.
Cameron Selbach, Seaman Sr.
Zach Sharshel, Washburn Rural Sr.
Jackson Summers, Hayden Sr.
Bryson Vawter, Seaman Sr.
Kyle Walker, Washburn Rural Jr.
Ty Weber, Washburn Rural Sr.
Second team
Name, school Class
Jordan Armbruster, Shawnee Heights Jr.
Sam Bettis, Washburn Rural So.
Cooper Campiilli, Silver Lake So.
Avery Crosswhite, Rossville Jr.
Matt Genrich, Topeka High Jr.
Brett Hinck, Silver Lake Sr.
Camden Horak, Rossville Jr.
Scout Jellison, Seaman Sr.
Kiernan Meredith, Seaman Sr.
Nic Perez, Shawnee Heights Sr.
Blake Redmond, Silver Lake Jr.
Braydn Rose, Hayden Sr.
Evan Smith, Shawnee Heights Sr.
Dayten Smoot, Washburn Rural Sr.
Brayden Wheatley, Shawnee Heights Jr.
Gavin Zuperku, Shawnee Heights Sr.
Honorable mention
Hayden: Brady Heinen. Highland Park: Ajani Cooper, Ay'Dren Drew-Gregory, Jayvonni Osayande. Rossville: Brock Bush, Sean Cunningham. Seaman: Kaiden Griffin, Justin Phillips. Shawnee Heights: Carter Ulrich. Silver Lake: Brody Renfro. Topeka High: Ty Votaw, Peyton Wheat. Topeka West: Elijah Berg. Washburn Rural: Aiden Rea, Kaleb Wellshear.
Player of the year -- Bryson Vawter, Seaman.
Newcomer of the year -- .Brady Heinen.
Co-coaches of the year -- Cody Miller.