Few starters and contributors from last season’s Alta baseball team are gone, and that’s a good thing for this year’s crew. 

Alta head coach Daron Connelly has a veteran group back for 2025 to compete in a talented Region 6. The Hawks begin the new campaign with plenty of optimism and enthusiasm. 

“Everyone is excited to get the season started,” Connelly said. “We’re a year older with most of our starters returning from last year. We are a senior- and junior-heavy team this year. We have our three frontline pitchers from last year returning. Seven of our starters on defense are returning this year, and our defense and pitching will be our strengths.”

Connelly named seven seniors whom he expects to contribute this season. That group consists of pitcher Levi Stevenson, catcher Jose Periera, infielder Colton Hall, infielder/pitcher Marco Aviles, infielder/pitcher Nolan Lohnes, infielder Max Scheel and utility player/pitcher Derek Tate. Five juniors—pitcher/outfielder John Warren, pitcher/infielder Ian Alvey, outfielder/pitcher McCoy Johnson, outfielder Crew Scheel and infielder/pitcher Nash Williams—will also be key players in the lineup. 

Alta is welcoming some newcomers to the varsity squad this season. Connelly is eager to see how they can add to the team’s success. Junior utility player TJ Perry, sophomore utility player/pitcher Tatum Johnson, sophomore outfielder/pitcher Braden Lucky, sophomore utility player Connor Swicegood and freshman utility player Abel Velador will see time for the Hawks as well. 

As coach, Connelly loves that his players are humble and ready to learn and develop. 

“I love the fact that these guys are coachable and willing to work hard to continually improve,” he said. “They are willing to push each other and hold each other accountable. They have a belief in themselves and know the opinions of others don’t matter. They are committed to each other and each other’s success. They keep me energized and excited to go out and compete.”

Alta has daunting opponents awaiting it in Region 6. At the top last season was Brighton, which lost just one out of 21 contests in league action. 

Mother Nature can also be a challenging obstacle to overcome. 

The spring season in Utah can be unpredictable, making practices and games sometimes hard to complete. Connelly also said avoiding injuries is critical. 

“Weather is always our greatest challenge,” Connelly said. “We know that we need the moisture, but it’s baseball season, and we’re hoping it doesn’t create issues with the schedule. We also need to make sure we stay healthy. We are good team, but our second-line kids are young. We have 12 sophomores and 12 freshmen in the program, which bodes well for the future.”

The Hawks aren’t shying away from setting big expectations. 

Connelly believes his squad can claim the league crown and be a factor in the Class 5A race. He’s looking for a good start to the season and consistency throughout the schedule. To accomplish these goals, Connelly said Alta needs to get batter at the plate and get more runners on base. The pitchers are also working hard to cut down on the number of hits opponents get.

“Our kids expect to be contending for a Region 6 title and expect to be in the mix as a favorite for a state championship,” Connelly said. “If we can get out the gates fast, we should be able to meet that personal expectation. We need to keep things simple. Offensively, we need to cut down on the number of strikeouts we had last year. If we take good at-bats and can get runners on regularly, we will score a lot of runs. Our pitchers need to throw strikes and not give our opponents extra base runners. If we do that, our defense will be steady, and we’ll get a lot of outs.”

The Hawks were also good last season about winning close games, and Connelly expects that trend to continue. He loves his pitchers and has glowing praise for the team camaraderie. 

“Our maturity and varsity experience will be one of our strengths,” he said. “We had eight walk-off wins last year, and that is now part of who we are. Our kids feel like they are never out of a game. Our pitching is very deep. Having many arms, we can run out there will help us make a deep playoff run. Our team chemistry this year is probably the best it’s been in the eight years I’ve been at Alta. Our guys get along and they like being around each other and they play for
each other.” λ