Gaylord St. Mary's Dillon Croff wins GHT Baseball Player of the Year, headlines all-area

GAYLORD ― The past few springs in Gaylord have been dominated by softball, with top-ranked teams like Gaylord and Johannesburg-Lewiston filling up the headlines week after week,

That might make some underestimate, even flat out forget about the area baseball teams, but this was not the season to overlook any Gaylord-area team on any diamond.

Gaylord, St. Mary and JoBurg all posted winning records on the baseball diamond this year with playmakers up and down their lineups helping their teams to positive outcomes. Now, those top players continue to be rewarded as we reveal the Gaylord Herald Times All-Area baseball team honorees.

All-GHT Softball:Gaylord's Aubrey Jones wins GHT Softball Player of the Year, headlines All-Area team

All-BNC Baseball:Here are the Gaylord baseball players who made the All-Big North Conference teams

PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

First Team

Pitcher: Dillon Croff, Gaylord St. Mary (PLAYER OF THE YEAR)

There weren't many dominant pitchers on the area mounds this year, but Gaylord St. Mary's ace Dillon Croff was as dominant as they come; he finished his final high school season with a 7-5 record with 77 strikeouts and a 3.27 earned-run average through 15 appearances.

Add in one of the best offensive stat lines of any area player (.375 batting average, 24 RBI, 23 runs scored) and its a season deserving of the honor of Gaylord Herald Times Player of the Year

Catcher: Brennan Radulski, Gaylord

Perhaps the most loaded position in the area, Gaylord junior Brennan Radulski earned first-team honors at catcher for his efforts offensively (.414 batting average, 26 RBI) and defensively (caught 11 runners stealing).

Infield: Daniel Jacobson, Gaylord St. Mary

The Snowbirds' starting shortstop, Jacobson finished 2024 with a .360 average, 28 runs scored and 7 RBI as GSM finished 15-11 overall.

Infield: Lucas Green, Gaylord

Gaylord's starting shortstop was a first-team All-Big North honoree after a solid season for the Blue Devils, both offensively and defensively. He had a .333 average with 28 total hits, 20 runs scored and 7 stolen bases.

Infield: Aidan Locker, Gaylord

Gaylord's senior third baseman wrapped up his final season as a Blue Devil with a .263 batting average, 23 RBI and 15 runs scored. He also struck out 31 batters in 34.2 innings pitched.

Infield: Rylan Rosso, JoBurg

JoBurg junior third basemen Rylan Rosso asserted himself as one of the top offensive threats in the Ski Valley Conference, posting a .440 average with 33 hits, 33 RBI and 20 runs scored in 2024.

Outfield: Torino Lamerato, Gaylord

Senior centerfielder and leadoff hitter Torino Lamerato hit .293 while leading the GHS team with 37 runs scored and 43 stolen bases.

Outfield: Will Bethuy, Gaylord

One of two first-team All-BNC members, senior Will Bethuy had a .374 batting average with a team-high 40 hits along with 13 runs batted in and 26 runs scored.

Outfield: Isaac Collins, Gaylord

An underrated member of a stacked Gaylord outfield, junior Isaac Collins hit .324 with 21 runs scored and 15 RBI as GHS posted a 25-13-1 overall record in 2024.

Second team

Noah Vanderveer, Gaylord, P

Brett Koscielniak, Gaylord St. Mary, C

Collin Lake, JoBurg, C

Benny Lindbert, JoBurg, INF

Colin Piehl, Gaylord, INF

Thomas Fox, JoBurg, INF

Ethan Ford, Gaylord, OF

Peyton DeWeerd, Gaylord St. Mary, OF

Honorable Mentions

Aidan Hornbaker, Gaylord; Hogan McKinley, Gaylord St. Mary; Lucas Greenier, Gaylord St. Mary; Nathan O'Connell, Gaylord St. Mary; Tanner Basinski, JoBurg

Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen