San Juan baseball team is eager to begin season

by Rhett Sifford
Sports Editor
When the San Juan High School baseball season came to an end in May 2022, head coach Jens Nielson said, “My heart hurts. These boys fought all season, they worked hard. To have it end this way was devastating.”
It was indeed a premature exit. Expectations were high for a team that included several players who had helped the Broncos win football and basketball state championships in 2022.
But surprising upset losses to Parowan and North Summit in the first two games of the 2A state tournament ousted San Juan and cut short their season with 15 wins and eight losses.
As the 2023 campaign gets underway this week, the Broncos have a renewed drive and a passion to improve and move forward from where they left off last season.
Coach Nielson says the conclusion to the 2022 season is still fresh on the players’ and coaches’ minds. “It was an awful feeling that we don’t want to experience again,” he explained.
“As players and coaches we know we should have never lost that game [to North Summit].  We had a solid game plan that was executed pretty well in most areas. We set ourselves up to win and didn’t complete the execution of that plan.
“That loss is on me as a coach,” Nielson continued. “We had plan A and didn’t even want to think about plan B or C. As a team we are not holding on to that loss. It didn’t define our season last year and won’t define our season this year. We are excited to be back and show what we can do this year.”
Nielson answered several questions and offered numerous informative comments on the team and the season as the Broncos get set to open the year.
Rhett Sifford: Tell me about the process these last few weeks getting ready for the season.
Jens Nielson: The process is always a little difficult because many of our athletes are involved in other sports and are being pulled in many different directions. So we don’t get full participation until tryouts begin. We’ve averaged around 15 guys for each open gym we’ve run. Our main focus has been agility drills, fundamentals, and reps. We want these boys to throw and have their arms in shape to avoid injury and to help with early-season pitching.
Sifford: Tell me about your team this season.
Nielson: We had three seniors graduate last year. We bring back a lot of varsity experience. We lost some good leadership from our seniors last year who did amazing things with helping to turn the program around. Because of their leadership, we have guys who will step into their roles and do very well.
We are loaded with talent from the top to the bottom. We are led by our four seniors, Collin Baker, Garrett Young, Jerzy Nieves, and Ian Johnson. Included in there is Parker Snyder, our junior leader. We will be a well-rounded team.
We have all the pieces to do something special this season. We have an explosive offensive team, solid defense, and we are deep with our pitching staff. Look for these boys to do great things. It’s going to be a fun season!
Sifford: Has anyone already started to impress you?
Nielson: Our guys play together, I think we are going to have nine to 11 guys at the varsity level who will step up and do great things. They will each impress in their own way.
Sifford: Has anyone improved greatly from what you remember last season?
Nielson: Every one of them. They have hit the weight room and have worked in the offseason whether in baseball or other sports. They are bigger, stronger, faster, and more mature.
Sifford: What’s the feeling you get from your players as you get set to start the year?
Nielson: The players are excited, they are having fun, and have looked forward to getting back to baseball for a long time. The older guys are doing well to make sure the younger players know that they are part of this team and are essential to the process.
Sifford: You’ve mentioned a couple of your expected strengths. Where might you be weak this season?
Nielson: We have a lot of things to improve on, but these boys are winners and are equipped to build on what isn’t working. Right now it’s just a matter of getting in baseball shape.
Sifford: What do you know about your opposition this year?
Nielson: 2A has lots of talent. South Sevier brings back everyone from their 2022 championship run. There are several other teams who are young but talented. We are right there with everyone.
I don’t know that there is any one team that stands out as being overwhelming. We have a mentality that we can beat anyone. We want to be humble about it and show it in the way we play, but the mentality is that we don’t fear any team.
Sifford: What goals do you have as a team? As a coaching staff?
Nielson: Enjoy the game and have fun. It’s baseball. We have good young men, good ballplayers. Teach in practice and enjoy the game. The team is focused on playing together, not on individual stats. We’re focused on the success of the team as a whole. We want to play hard-nosed baseball and play with the mentality that we will never give up.
Sifford: Tell me about the coaches who will be helping you this year.
Nielson: Travis Whatcott, Easton Nielson, Billy Mendoza, Kyle Hosler, Wes Carter, Derek Bethea, and John Young. We have a great coaching staff with a lot of expertise. These guys are the best!
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As Nielson mentioned, San Juan returns quite a bit of experience this year and are poised to make some noise in 2A play. Senior Garrett Young led the team in 2022 with an impressive .450 batting average. He’s also a threat to run with 33 stolen bases in 24 games last season.
Junior Parker Snyder batted .446 last season. Senior Collin Baker hit .395 for the Broncos in 2022 and led the team with 25 runs batted in.
It will be interesting to watch talented sophomore Talon Mendoza this season. He hit .386 last year with with 20 RBIs.
Three of the strongest Bronco defenders from 2022 are still on the team. Snyder had 91 putouts last season, Young had 48, and Baker had 34.
Nieves was one of San Juan’s top pitchers, striking out 43 batters in 2022 while allowing 42 hits, just 18 earned runs, and 12 walks in 32.2 innings of work.
So the core of the Broncos’ team is still in place and it bodes well for the 2023 season. The team is excited to get underway, and the wait is officially over.
They’ll hit the road for a 450-mile trip to Mesquite, NV to play in the annual Cactus Classic hosted by Virgin Valley High School this Thursday through Saturday, March 9-11.
San Juan opens the season in round-robin play against the 5A Bonneville Lakers on Thursday. They’ll face familiar 2A foe Enterprise and the host Virgin Valley Bulldogs on Friday with elimination play set for Saturday.