The Columbia High School baseball program lost three big bats and a top pitcher to graduation from a 2025 squad that went 17-14 and captured a regional title.

Gone are 2025 offensive leaders Cash Bailey, Micah James and Logan Bosch in addition to tall righthander Sam Donald.

In fact, this year’s Eagles roster includes just one senior. 

“Last season, we were a very senior-dominated team,” Columbia head coach Neal O’Donnell said. “This season, we will rely mainly on guys who don’t have a lot of varsity experience coming into the season. Luckily, most of our guys were able to get their feet wet at the varsity level and that should help us early in the season.”

Leading the way in 2026 is senior Brody Landgraf, who just finished an all-state season in basketball. The Creighton University baseball commit is a four-year starter at first base who hit around .300 with 23 runs scored in 2025.

“We will rely heavily on his middle of the order presence in our lineup,” O’Donnell said.

Two returning juniors are outfielder Will Kleinschmidt and pitcher/outfielder Eli Simmons.  

The left-handed hitting Kleinschmidt hit .400 in 71 plate appearances last season with 20 RBIs and 22 runs. Simmons posted a 1.84 ERA in 19 innings pitched.

Another junior, Collin Augustine battled injuries last season but should see some mound duty in 2026.

A few sophomores also return following fine freshman seasons. 

Connor Basinski really came on late last spring, and finished with a 4-1 record  and 1.71 ERA in 45 innings pitched. 

“Connor worked himself into our ace as a freshman, and our kids have a lot of confidence in Connor,” O’Donnell said. 

Fellow sophomore Ayden Sepich went 3-0 with a 2.33 ERA in 15 innings pitched. 

Another sophomore pitcher who saw the mound last season is Xavier Voegele.

Key newcomers to the Eagles varsity roster this spring include juniors Jack Leitschuh, Cooper Reuss and Owen Worcester.

O’Donnell said defense was an issue at times last season, but looks to be improved entering this spring.

“Our defense has the capability of being really solid this season, with an opportunity to save us some runs,” he said.

Offensively, it’s wait and see due to the lack of experience. 

“Landgraf and Kleinschmidt are the only returners who saw a significant number of at-bats last season,” O’Donnell said. “We’re going to rely heavily on guys who simply don’t have a lot of experience at this level. That’s OK. That’s part of the process with high school baseball.” 

O’Donnell said his team may have to get creative to score runs this season. 

“We will need to be able to score runs in a number of ways, run the bases aggressively, and do the small things that add up to the big things to win games,” he said. 

Ultimately, O’Donnell said his team will work to improve in all facets day by day in an effort to be a tough out come postseason time.

“We definitely have some things to work on and sort out, but we like what we have and look forward to hopefully playing our best baseball at the end of the season,” he said.