Editor's note: The Thurston Chronicle's All-Area selections do not include Tumwater, Black Hills, Rochester, Tenino or Rainier high schools. These schools will be included in The Chronicle's All-Area honors.
Perhaps no moment in the 2026 baseball season among local teams was more clutch than the final out of the South Puget Sound League Championship Game between Olympia and Sumner May 6.
Bottom of the seventh inning, two outs, and a 1-0 Olympia lead. Sumner’s Xander Cypher skied a ball to left field, and the looks on the faces of Olympia’s infielders went from the brink of jubilation to the brink of despair as the ball kept carrying toward the fence.
At the last moment, Olympia’s senior left fielder Brayden Cheeka jumped and snagged the ball before it could leave the ballpark, sealing the program’s first SPSL championship. Immediately, the looks on the faces of everyone on the field returned to joy.
“It was a great memory as the first in the school’s history,” Cheeka said of the SPSL title. “It was pretty cool for me to end it like that with the home run robbery.”
The Olympia Bears collectively thrived in clutch moments all season, and Cheeka was no exception as he helped lead the squad to the 4A state quarterfinals. His clutch gene, consistent hitting and lockdown defense in the outfield are why he was selected as the first ever Thurston Chronicle All-Area Baseball MVP.
“It’s a huge honor to go down as the first one. It means a lot,” Cheeka said. “It’s probably one of my biggest awards I have.”
Cheeka, a First Team All-SPSL selection, led Olympia in most statistical categories, including batting average (.360), hits (27), runs batted in (20) and on-base plus slugging percentage (.927). He also finished his senior season with a 100% fielding percentage defensively.
“I think I was just keeping in my means, not swinging for the fences the entire time,” he said. “I was just making the plays that I knew I could make.”
Cheeka was part of a senior class that won 75 games over the past four years, an impressive feat for a group that came in a year after the Bears won the state title in 2022. The senior class won the program’s first SPSL title in 2026, a district title in 2024 and advanced to the state quarterfinals twice, earning state trips all four years.
“It was probably the friendships I made,” Cheeka said of his biggest takeaway from his time with the senior group. “These seniors that I’ve been with for four years, it’s pretty huge to win the title with them and then to go to the quarterfinals.”
The full All-Area Team is listed below:
Zach Albright, North Thurston, infielder/pitcher
Albright was one of the catalysts behind North Thurston’s torrid stretch through the second half of the season, helping the Rams win 12 straight games. He batted .343 with 15 RBIs and 24 runs scored, and he was an efficient pitcher when his number was called, allowing just a 1.80 earned run average in 23.1 innings. Albright was named to the First Team All-Puget Sound League Nisqually Division.
Brooks Barker, Capital, pitcher/outfielder
Barker earned a First Team All-PSL Nisqually nod after batting .305 with 14 RBIs at the plate and posting a 3.94 ERA with 38 strikeouts on the mound. The junior led Capital to its first win over rival Olympia in seven years with a three-run home run and a complete game on the mound.
Peyton Crass, Olympia, pitcher
If opposing teams saw Crass warming up in the bullpen, they knew they were in for a long day. The junior right-hander made every team earn everything it got, allowing just a .213 opposing batting average with a 1.91 ERA over 51.1 innings. He was a perfect 4 for 4 in save opportunities, and he piled up 58 strikeouts compared to just 17 walks to earn a First Team All-SPSL selection.
Sawyer Dean, Olympia, infielder
Another one of Olympia’s star seniors, Dean led the Bears with seven doubles and batted .293 while driving in a dozen and scoring 21 runs. He was one of the best baserunners in the area, swiping 18 bases. He saw limited time on the bump in his senior season, but he allowed only two hits in 9.2 innings and struck out 11 batters.
Jordan Dircks, North Thurston, infielder/catcher
Dircks was a consistent hitter for the Rams all season, batting .403 with a .524 on-base percentage. He drove in 20 runs, and while playing catcher and in the infield, he recorded a 95.7% fielding percentage.
Kole French, North Thurston, infielder/pitcher
French went out with a bang in his senior season, leading the Rams in on-base percentage (.538), OPS (1.090), slugging (.552), RBIs (28) and stolen bases (11). He also batted .397 and logged seven doubles and a triple. French picked up a First Team All-PSL Nisqually honor.
Jalon Fulton, River Ridge, catcher/pitcher
No one in the area was better at stealing bases than Fulton, who piled up 31 in his senior season. That wasn’t the only eye-popping stat, as he batted .489 and recorded an on-base percentage of .657 with four doubles, four triples and a home run. Fulton was River Ridge’s lone representative on the First Team All-PSL Nisqually list.
Marley Gamble, Timberline, outfielder/pitcher
Gamble had the best batting average of anyone on the All-Area Team, hitting .511 with 18 RBIs, five doubles and 12 stolen bases. Out of the bullpen, he was unhittable. Across 11.2 innings, he allowed just one hit and struck out 11. Gamble is poised to be even better as a senior in 2027.
Marshall Guyer, Northwest Christian, pitcher/catcher
Guyer was dynamic on the mound in his sophomore season for the Wolverines with a 2.93 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 45.1 innings while reaching 90 mph on his fastball. He was no slouch with a bat in his hands either, leading the team with a .440 batting average, 22 hits, two home runs and 24 RBIs.
Max Hanson, Capital, catcher/first baseman
Hanson, a First Team All-PSL Nisqually catcher and first baseman, hit .377 and reached base 50% of the time while driving in 22 runs and scoring 17 times. He was also a threat on the base paths, stealing seven bases.
Travis Kunkel, Olympia, pitcher
Kunkel was dominant on the mound for the SPSL champion Olympia Bears. In 47 innings, he allowed only 12 earned runs and struck out 49 batters compared to 13 walks. His 1.787 ERA is tied for the best among All-Area pitchers, and the senior earned every bit of a First Team All-SPSL nod.
Parker Myers, Yelm, infielder
Yelm’s top hitter finished his prep career with a First Team All-SPSL award by hitting .426 with a pair of home runs and 15 RBIs. Myers also stole 13 bases and was a stout infielder for the Tornados.
Luke Nickel, Northwest Christian, outfielder
Nickel quietly enjoyed a great freshman season en route to a All-Sea-Tac League First Team selection. He saw time in the outfield, at catcher, second base and on the mound, and he batted .386 with 14 RBIs, 20 runs and 14 stolen bases. Across all of his defensive positions, he recorded a 96.8% fielding percentage.
Ethan Shaefer, North Thurston, pitcher
Shaefer was named the Most Valuable Pitcher of the PSL Nisqually Division by posting a 1.787 ERA with 66 strikeouts and 18 walks in 47 innings for the Rams. At the plate, he led North Thurston in batting average (.416), hits (32), runs (32) and stolen bases (11). Shaefer also delivered 17 RBIs and struck out only five times all season.
Jack Vahey, Northwest Christian, first baseman
Northwest Christian’s vocal leader was named a All-Sea-Tac First Teamer following his senior campaign as he helped the Wolverines reach the state tournament for the first time in 12 seasons. He provided a guaranteed out at first base with a 98.6% fielding percentage, and he batted .273 with 18 RBIs, 23 runs and walked 24 times.
Adrian Williams, Timberline, pitcher
A First Team All-PSL Nisqually honoree, Williams was Timberline’s top pitcher in 2026, posting a 2.90 ERA in 41.1 innings. He recorded 29 strikeouts and one complete game for the Blazers. Williams will certainly be in the conversation for the area’s top pitcher in 2027.
