Broncos enter baseball quarterfinals undefeated for first time in 14 years

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
The San Juan High School baseball team won three of their final four games of the regular season and entered the 2026 2A Utah State Tournament with momentum this past weekend.
The #4-seeded Broncos opened the tournament hosting a four-team POD in Blanding on Saturday, May 2. Their first opponent was #13 Duchesne.
The game was tight early on when both teams scored a run in the opening inning and the Eagles took a one-run lead in the top of the third inning.
But San Juan exploded for eight runs in the bottom half of the third to make the score 9-2. Duchesne chipped away at the lead with one run in the fourth and three in the fifth to make the score 10-6.
The Broncos weren’t interested in allowing the game to continue past the fifth inning, so they promptly plated six baserunners to close out a 16-6 mercy rule win.
Baylor Nielson was 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and a run batted in. Kreed Herring was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Remy Whatcott, Keilan Hutchins, and Nache Young all had two hits. Hutchins hit a home run and drove in four Bronco runs. Whatcott and Young both collected two RBIs apiece.
Jagger Nieves had a solid outing on the mound for the Broncos, allowing three unearned runs on five hits and striking out five. Nielson pitched one inning of relief, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits.
With the win San Juan cruised into the second round of the tournament where they faced #5 South Sevier who had defeated #12 Milford 17-4 in their first contest of the day.
The game served as a rubber match between the Broncos and Rams. The teams split games earlier in the season with San Juan winning 9-5 in Blanding April 7 and South Sevier winning 11-8 in Monroe on April 10.
This time San Juan established an early lead with four runs in the bottom of the first inning, and that ultimately proved to be enough.
They added two runs to their lead in the fourth inning before the Rams answered with their only two runs in the top of the fifth.
The Broncos didn’t score again, but they also held South Sevier off the board in the sixth and seventh innings to close out a solid 6-2 win.
Nache Young led the offense with a 2-for-3 performance with a double. Brandt Bingham, Jagger Nieves, Keilan Hutchins, and Jonas Jeppesen all got one hit apiece.
Hutchins drove in two runs for San Juan while Bingham, Nieves, Herring, and Whatcott all got one RBI apiece. Herring pitched a very nice complete game, allowing only two runs on three hits while striking out 13. The two runs were unearned.
The win propels the Broncos directly into the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2012. They’ll have a tough matchup when the tournament resumes at BYU this Thursday, May 7.
They’ll take on #1 Beaver for the first time since they saw them on March 13 in Blanding in a game the Beavers won 16-8. That was the teams’ only meeting this season.
The Broncos are looking to earn a trip to the state semifinals for the first time since they won their last state championship in 2010. They did battle back into the semifinals in one-loss play in 2023.
Find links to follow San Juan’s progress and watch them play on the Utah High School Activity Association web page at uhsaa.org.