The six finalists for the 2025 Humboldt Sports Baseball Player of the Year.

By Ray Hamill — It was another fun year on the local high school baseball fields with lots of excitement, a breakthrough championship and a thrilling Charles Lakin tournament final.

And with all of that in mind, it’s now time for Humboldt Sports to name our Player, Team and Coach of the year.

The winners will be announced this coming weekend, but first up are our six finalists for player of the year.

As always, it was difficult limiting the pool of candidates to just six, with numerous other players also receiving plenty of consideration, including multiple players on all three championship teams — Del Norte (Big 5), St. Bernard’s (Little 4) and McKinleyville (Charles Lakin tournament).

All six finalists enjoyed outstanding seasons for their respective teams, including two who were named conference MVPs.

Of the six, four were seniors this year and two were juniors.

Five of the nine league programs are represented on the list.

The player of the year is chosen by Humboldt Sports in conjunction with input from all of the league coaches throughout the season.

Photo by Taunya Caldwell Brunton

2025 Humboldt Sports Baseball Player of the Year Finalists

Luke Brunton

St. Bernard’s, Junior

Brunton was named MVP of the Little 4 after a season that saw him excel on the mound, at the plate and on defense.

Preston Daniels

Del Norte, Senior

Daniels led a talented and deep Del Norte team with his exceptional play on the mound and the Warriors would not have ended their long wait for a conference championship without him.

Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

Tanner Kees

Arcata, Junior

Kees is arguably the best catcher in the H-DNL and also had big seasons on the mound and at the plate, helping to lead the Tigers to another North Coast Section championship.

Jackson Kelly

McKinleyville, Senior

One of several Panthers to impress this spring and receive consideration for our player of the year, Kelly led the team’s pitchers in wins and was one of the more consistent bats in the Big 5.

Ben Lukens

Arcata, Senior

One of the top pitchers in this year’s H-DNL, Lukens saved his best for last and was nothing short of outstanding on the Tigers’ march to a fourth NCS title.

Robert Williams

Eureka, Senior

Williams played a key role in the Loggers’ late-season surge that saw the team win eight of its last nine regular-season games and he was named Eureka’s team MVP.