The 2024 6A All‑Idaho baseball season concluded with a celebration of the state’s most dominant players and the coaches who guided them to glory.
A season of brilliance
Nathan Keith of Owyhee was crowned the 6A Player of the Year, a testament to a rare combination of pitching precision and baserunning speed. He posted a microscopic 0.33 ERA across all classifications and led the division with 25 stolen bases, underscoring his all‑around impact.
Coach Matt Rasmussen, also from Owyhee, earned Coach of the Year honors after steering his squad to a championship‑contending campaign. Under his guidance, the team blended aggressive base running with disciplined pitching, a formula that produced a string of high‑scoring victories.
Other offensive standouts included Cooper Schneidt from Mountain View, who hit .422 and topped the division with 46 hits and 42 runs scored, and Brody Newbery of Boise, who posted a .453 average while reaching base at a .589 clip and slugging .722.
Bam Fenter of Coeur d’Alene added a potent bat to his pitching repertoire, hitting .457 and driving in 28 runs, while also going 4‑1 on the mound with a 1.81 ERA.
Christian Zannitto of Owyhee anchored the pitching staff, leading the division with 61 innings and a perfect 10‑0 record, striking out 71 batters in the process.
Christian Waitley of Canyon Ridge, who struck out just once all season, posted a .578 average, a .688 on‑base percentage and a slugging percentage of 1.047, a combination that left opposing pitchers reeling.
Ryan Yesford from Mountain View paced the league in RBIs with 42 while batting .414 and stealing 17 bases, and Jack Hallenbeck of Owyhee contributed a .385 average with 24 RBIs and only four strikeouts in 32 games.
Gavin Helms of Coeur d’Alene hit .434 and was praised for his steady glove at first base, while Preston Christianson of Capital posted a .424 average, including a scorching .560 during conference play.
The pitching depth extended to Stephen Egan of Eagle, who tied for the all‑class lead in complete games with nine and finished 8‑2 with a 2.14 ERA, and Matt Romero of Centennial, who went 6‑2 with a 1.96 ERA and struck out 61 batters in 50 innings.
All of these performances were chronicled by Michael Lycklama, who has covered Idaho high school sports since 2007 and earned national recognition for his reporting.
The collective achievements of these athletes and their mentors illustrate the rising competitiveness of Idaho’s high school baseball landscape, setting a high bar for the next generation of players.