Meet Drew Banks, the workhorse ace pitcher of the Colo-NESCO baseball team

Colo-NESCO baseball coach Brandon Frohwein knew back in February he was going to have to rely heavily on senior pitcher Drew Banks during the 2024 season.

The Royals had to replace seven starters, including record-setting pitcher Spencer Hansen, off a 2023 team that had hit double figures in wins for the third year in a row. When Frohwein had the initial team meeting to start the 2024 season last winter, he said there were only 12 or 13 players in the room.

Colo-NESCO added a couple of players by the time the season began in May, but it was clear the Royals had a lot of experience and depth issues to overcome.

“We knew right from then Drew would have to shoulder a lot of the leadership role,” said Frohwein. “He would have to be the leader of the team, and he’s been that. He’s taken the ball every single time he can all season and given us a chance to win.”

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Banks has certainly needed to shoulder a heavy load this season. He entered the month of July having logged more innings than any pitcher in Class 1A at 58 2/3. A young Royals team has needed his presence on the mound.

Banks was 5-3 entering July. The Royals (7-14) were just 2-11 in their other 13 games.

“Having Drew on the mound is so much easier for the whole team,” said Colo-NESCO catcher Landon Gjerde. “We know he’s going to be consistent night in, and night out.”

Banks came into July with a 2.62 ERA with 76 strikeouts and 18 walks. His strikeout total ranked seventh among 1A pitchers.

“Obviously, everyone probably wishes that they could do better," said Banks. "There are a few games here and there every year that I struggle. But I think overall I’ve done pretty good so far.”

Banks was forced to miss most of his freshman season with a broken elbow. He refused to let that get him down.

“It sucked to lose that year,” said Banks. “I love baseball and we were good that year. But I knew I had three more years ahead of me to get better, so I just kept on looking toward the future.”

Over the next three years he learned a lot from Hansen, who went 18-10 during his four varsity years pitching.

“He was a really good pitcher,” Banks said. “He told me some good pointers.”

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As a sophomore Banks was 5-2 with a 2.12 ERA, 44 strikeouts and 33 walks in 43 innings. Last year he finished 4-2 with a 2.41 ERA, 60 strikeouts and 34 walks in 49 1/3 innings.

Banks continued to work tirelessly over the offseason to become a better pitcher. He is still putting in the time to improve, even with 1A districts starting this Saturday.

“I think I’ve definitely improved my fastball, being more accurate and not wasting pitches,” Banks said. “I still have a lot of work to do — my curveball is not very good.”

He has made life a lot easier for the rest of the team, especially Gjerde at catcher.

“It’s really easy to catch for him," Gjerde said. "Just call the pitch, locate it, and you know it’s going to be there. I trust him with his pitches and where he’s going to put them.”

Banks does more than just help the team on the field. His best attribute might be his leadership to the young roster.

The Royals needed him to with their other two seniors knowing they would miss a lot of time before the season even began.

Frohwein's son, Lucas, tore his ACL in basketball and was forced to miss the season. The other senior, Trenton Beard, went on a trip to Japan, and he has missed eight games through the end of June.

"Drew has been a really good leader in the dugout," Brandon Frohwein said. "He's trying to teach the kids the right things to do."

Banks will pitch for Iowa Central in college. But he wants to keep his Colo-NESCO career going as long as possible, starting with a win over AGWSR in the 1A District 5 quarterfinals on Saturday at West Fork.

He wants to enjoy his final games as a Royal as much as possible.

“Most of all, I’m trying to get everyone to have fun," Banks said. "We’re pretty young, so we have a lot of work to do, but having fun is more important right now.”

Joe Randleman covers high school sports for the Ames Tribune. Contact him at jrandleman@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter at @JoeRandleman

This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Meet Drew Banks, the workhorse ace pitcher of the Colo-NESCO baseball team