In its first season in the 4A South Puget Sound League (SPSL), the Yelm Tornados baseball team has goals of vast improvement and aspirations of competing in postseason baseball.
In head coach Dakota Hill’s debut season with the program in 2024, which was also the Tornados’ final season in the 3A South Sound Conference, Yelm finished the season 6-14 with a conference record of 4-10. After an offseason where Hill emphasized the importance of weight room time, he and his team leaders believe the Tornados are primed for a strong debut season in the SPSL.
“I’d like to see us keep getting better each year,” Hill said. “I think this group has the opportunity to build a good foundation and expectation and standard of making the playoffs. That’s the goal for this year after talking with the older guys. We want to get into that league tourney at the end.”
Hill, a former YHS baseball player and class of 2017 graduate, said four of his seniors have taken big steps forward in the weight room, on the baseball field and as leaders. He highlighted Wyatt Robison, Barrett Schnetz, Colby Ward and Tyler Sage as the older athletes helping shape the culture throughout the Tornados’ program.
“Wyatt and Barrett are pretty good arms for us. Those guys are going to be our leaders. We’re going to go as they go. There’s some good stuff there. Wyatt topped 91 (MPH) yesterday, and I think it’s a big year for him. Same thing for Barrett. I think he’s capable of a lot more. He’s had a great offseason,” Hill said. “Colby Ward has put on a lot of muscle as well, and he’s been looking pretty good the first couple of days at practice. Tyler Sage, too. He’s been looking pretty good at the first few practices. We just need a lot of steady leadership out of those guys.”
Following the conclusion of Hill’s inaugural season with Yelm in 2024, he told the Nisqually Valley News one of his big points of emphasis in the offseason would be for his athletes to find time to lift and train together after school.
He said the first offseason lifting program under his leadership went great, as younger and older athletes bonded inside the YHS weight room. He’s proud of the work his athletes have put in, describing it as an “awesome off-season.”
“We’re trying to give kids every opportunity they can to get better,” Hill said. “We have a lot of guys, young guys especially, who want to be really good at baseball. We want to give them opportunities to lift so those little dinks turn into gap shots. It’s a big difference. You look at pro guys, they’re moving weight. The leaders have done a really great job at running some of those activities and taking care of the program as a whole. The accountability has been good. The weight room is where you earn the respect of not only your coaches, but your peers. If you build that sweat equity with someone, it’s like OK, there’s a lot more trust involved. It’s a pretty tight group. I’m really excited to see what these guys can do together.”
Hill, who previously coached at Olympia High School before accepting the head coaching job at YHS, said he knows the 4A SPSL is challenging. According to the coach, the SPSL is one of the toughest leagues in Washington regardless of sport, and it’s a huge jump from the 3A SSC.
“It’s a huge jump. You could get away with just skill in our old league, but in this league, you need skill and some HWA: how to win awareness. That’s something an old LSU coach, Skip Bertman, would say. You can’t get along just on just skill anymore,” Hill said. “They have to know how to win, how to do the small things right. If we don’t do those small things right, it’s going to get out of hand for us. We can’t give games away. We have to take care of the ball. In football, you don’t want to give up turnovers. In baseball, you don’t want to give out freebies — taking extra bases is getting turnovers.”
For updates on the 2025 YHS baseball program, follow the team on Twitter/X @Yelm_Baseball for updates, highlights, scores and more.
