Following their regional championship run last season, the Humboldt Cubs will field a much different lineup at Thursday’s home jamboree.
Graduating almost their entire lineup last spring, Humboldt coach Mike Miller said he has a starting lineup in mind but believes the players taking the field for the first time Thursday may be much different from when they take the field for the last time in May.
“We lost a lot last year, so we have a lot of question marks coming into this,” Coach Miller said. “We haven’t been through this in a while, where we had a group that just graduated that had been playing together since they were freshmen.”
Although in an undeniable rebuild year, the Cubs are far from out of the running for a return to the state tournament. Returning seniors Grady Elder, Carson Russell and Mason Sterling will be a guiding force for the Cubs, but sophomores Kolton Hanson and Ty Shaughnessy showed potential both in practice and last summer’s American Legion season.
“We usually have a good idea of who is going to be where, and this year we don’t know,” Miller said. “We’re still trying to figure that out. It’s exciting to see the competition between them and who is going to step up and take those spots.”
For Shaughnessy and Sterling, Thursday will also be the first full season they suited up with their teammates after missing significant portions of the fall and winter sports seasons with severe leg injuries. Coach Miller will rely on their experience in a variety of areas as he finds the perfect lineup to complement the skills of his young team.
“Mason was an everyday starter for us last year,” Miller said. “We know what we’re going to get from him and hopefully he can lead these young guys. Ty, Kolton Hanson and Gavin Gunderman played some spot duty for us at the varsity level and really did a good job when called on. They’ve been patiently waiting for their turn and hopefully they will make the most of it.”
