The Valmeyer High School baseball program appears to be trending up following a 10-20 campaign in 2025, led by a star two-way player with help from several returning starters.

“Our attitude has been good early, and expect us to compete better this year,” Valmeyer head coach Greg Reinhardt said.

Leading the way for the Pirates this spring will be senior Luke Blackwell. 

The John A. Logan College commit ranked among the area’s top hitters last season with a .425 average, .537 on base percentage, four home runs and 31 runs scored. While arm issues limited his pitching duties to 24 innings last season, he did record 31 strikeouts and should be much improved on the mound in 2026. 

Also on the bump for Valmeyer will be tall sophomore Tallen Jakimauskas, who went 3-3 with a 3.23 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 34-plus innings pitched last spring.

“Luke Blackwell is healthy this year, and Tallen Jakimauskas is another year older and stronger, and should give us a good 1-2 punch on the mound,” Reinhardt said.

Others expected to eat up innings on the mound for the Pirates include senior Gavin Rau (39 innings pitched in 2025), sophomore Evan Potts and freshman Matthew Blackwell.

In addition to Luke Blackwell’s big bat in the lineup, the Pirates return senior catcher/infielder Chase Snyder. He hit .329 with 19 RBIs in 2025.

Another returning senior is outfielder Ripken Voelker, who collected 21 hits last year and contributes in the pitching department.

Coming off a breakout basketball season, junior Evan Hill returns to the diamond for Valmeyer after hitting .300 and scoring 18 runs last year.

Another key returner is sophomore Ethan Roy, who hit .309 and threw 17 innings in 2025.

Some key early games for the small-school Pirates include April 8 at home against Waterloo and then both April 14 and April 16 against conference rival New Athens.