YOUR AD HERE »

Truckee baseball | League honors Mike Ellis as Coach of the Year

Sylas Wright
swright@sierrasun.com
Truckee coach Mike Ellis, shown talking to Teagan Pado in a game last season, was voted Northern Division I-A Coach of the Year. Ellis died from a heart condition on April 5.
Sylas Wright / swright@sierrasun.com |

Truckee baseball coach Mike Ellis would have had a tough time holding back a smile.

Ellis, who died from a heart condition midway through the season, was named Northern Division I-A Coach of the Year in a unanimous vote by the league’s coaches.

“Mike was a big part of our league for many years, and with his passing, honoring him was something that we wanted to do as coaches,” said Fallon coach Lester de Braga. “It was unanimous.”



South Tahoe coach Starbuck Teevan, whose Vikings played a doubleheader at Truckee the day of Ellis’ death, said he initially nominated the longtime Truckee coach for the award.

“I said I know we have a lot of good coaches in this league who are deserving, but I propose that we vote Mike Ellis as Coach of the Year. He was a great coach,” Teevan said. “First and foremost, he was able to get the most out of his players. He was able to not only teach them a good brand of baseball — a hard-nosed brand of baseball, the same as we like to play — they all respected him fully and they all played their hearts out for him.”



Ellis was proud of his young group of Wolverines, who were in a rebuilding year following six consecutive seasons playing into the state championship tournament. The Wolverines won the state title in 2012.

“He was the type of coach that, anytime we faced them, we knew his teams were going to be scrappy,” de Braga said. “They were always a team that would never give up. That’s something that I think is a great tribute to him, just his desire and ability to get his kids to fight until the end.”

While Ellis would have appreciated receiving the award, he would have been more pleased about his players’ honors, led by senior pitcher Riley Guiragossian’s second-team All-League selection.

In addition to Guiragossian, junior first baseman Cameron Hollabaugh, junior second baseman Gavin Broad, and sophomore third baseman and pitcher Brad VanSchoonhoven received honorable mention recognition.

“We’re just really young. But we’re going to be good in the future,” Ellis said at the start of the season.

Northern Division I-A All-League

MVP: Tyler Bagby, Fallon

Coach of the Year: Mike Ellis, Truckee

First team

Catcher: Jack Phillips, Sr., Dayton

Infield: Dominic Diana, Sr., South Tahoe

Infield: Chad Schumacher, Sr., Elko

Infield: Lane Newman, Sr., Spring Creek

Infield: Cody Long, Sr., Fallon

Outfield: Jacob Conklin, Jr., Elko

Outfield: Calvin Connors, Sr., Lowry

Outfield: Dalton Frank, Jr., Fallon

Utility/DH: Kolby Eymann, Jr., South Tahoe

Pitcher: Derek Ridgway, Sr., Elko

Pitcher: Kevin Montgomery, Jr., Fernley

Pitcher: Zack Zeiler, Sr., Spring Creek

Second team

Catcher: Zephan Zeiler, Sr., Spring Creek

Infield: Joe Pyle, Jr., Fallon

Infield: Gavin Henderson, Jr., Fernley

Infield: Cole Hummel, Sr., Dayton

Infield: Brandon Okuma, Sr., Lowry

Outfield: Austin Garrick, Jr., Sparks

Outfield: Michael Smith, Jr., Spring Creek

Outfield: Dakota Lynch, Jr., South Tahoe

Utility/DH: Tanner Lecumberry, Sr., Lowry

Pitcher: Kyle Whitted, So., Elko

Pitcher: Tristen Salazar, Sr., Elko

Pitcher: Riley Guiragossian, Sr., Truckee

Honorable mention (Truckee only)

Cameron Hollabaugh, Jr., Truckee

Gavin Broad, Jr., Truckee

Brad VanSchoonhoven, So., Truckee


Support Local Journalism

 

Support Local Journalism

Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.

Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.

Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.