Central Christian baseball makes deepest run in 27 years

The Central Christian baseball team “kooked up” its best tournament run in 27 years.

The common denominator between the 2026 Division VII regional runner-up Comets and the 1999 state semifinalist Central Christian team is Zach Kooker.

Kooker was a junior on Central’s 1999 baseball team coached by his dad, Bruce Kooker, and as a 19th-year head coach, Zach directed this spring’s ball club.

“This is the first time I've ever been to the regional tournament as a head coach,” Zach Kooker said. “We've been in the district final game about five or six times, but this is the first time that we've been able to break through.

“It was pretty special, I'm not gonna lie. When you’re at it for so long and been so close and always fall a little bit short, to come through and figure out a way to get it done, it feels good for sure.”

Kooker made sure to give credit to the entire Central Christian team and coaching staff, calling it “one of the deepest teams I’ve had.”

“It's just a good mix of kids with the junior and senior class, who have had success kind of through all the sports,” Kooker said. “When you look at soccer and basketball, our teams have advanced far into the tournament as well.”

Making the season even more special, the Comets started 0-5 but continued to grind until they turned things around.

Central Christian defeated Wellsville (15-0) in the sectional, Fairport Harding (8-1) and McDonald (5-4) in the Massillon District and Medina Christian Academy (4-3) in the Oberlin Regional semifinals before falling to Tiffin Calvert (10-0) in the regional final.

Senior pitcher-third baseman Bryan Martin led Central Christian in batting average (.362), doubles (10), home runs (2) and RBIs (25) and tied for the lead with 22 runs.

The next leading hitters were junior center fielder Grayden Miller (.329, 22 runs), junior pitcher-shortstop Preston Clark (.284, nine 2B, 13 RBIs, 17 R), senior DH Lyle Endsley (.284, 15 stolen bases) and junior first baseman Jacob Neuenschwander (.274, seven 2B, 15 RBIs, 16 R).

Also banging out 16 or more hits and close behind in batting average were junior pitcher-third baseman Kye Kooker (17 RBIs, 15 SB), freshman second baseman Zavyer Kooker and senior catcher-pitcher Luke Schrier.

Martin led the team with 42 innings pitched, going 3-3 with a 2.17 ERA and 62 strikeouts. Schrier was 5-1 with a 4.76 ERA and 41 punchouts in 32.1 innings.

Clark (2-1, 5.18, 19 Ks in 25.2 IP) and Kye Kooker (4-2, 1.44, 27 Ks in 39 IP) were also solid, saving their best performances for the tournament.

“Our kids do a lot of things well together," said coach Kooker, whose sons Kye and Zavyer made it a family affair. "They get along well, and they are really good athletes. All those things are important.

“You can be the best coach in the world, but you still need to have the guys to do it. Lineup-wise, I felt like we were as deep this year as we've been in a long, long time, probably since 2016.”

There’s no substitute for experience, and eight of the nine regulars were juniors or seniors.

“Regardless of what people think, that makes a difference,” coach Kooker said. “As upperclassmen, they've seen varsity pitchers for three or four years and have experience with the speed of the game and everything else. When guys get in there and aren't surprised by the moment anymore, those are all good things.”

Martin received all-district honors, while Miller was an honorable mention pick.

Having Endsley back for the stretch run was the feel-good story of the year. He led the team in batting average as a freshman and sophomore but suffered shoulder injuries in baseball and basketball after that.

“Last year Lyle decided to forgo his junior season to have shoulder surgery just so he could play his whole senior year,” coach Kooker said. “Unfortunately, this past basketball season, eight weeks in, he tore his other side and ended up having to have surgery after that.

“He came back eight games into our season and was the designated hitter for the rest of the year. Having him back made a big difference in our lineup. He was hitting over .500 for a little while after first coming back.”