{"id":183361,"date":"2026-02-18T19:52:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:52:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/183361\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T19:52:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T19:52:09","slug":"long-beach-poly-jackrabbits-baseball-preview-the562-org","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/183361\/","title":{"rendered":"Long Beach Poly Jackrabbits Baseball Preview \u2013 The562.org"},"content":{"rendered":"

The562\u2019s football coverage for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums\u00a0Wendell \u201cWoWo\u201d Moe, Jr. & Tyson Ruffins.<\/a><\/p>\n

The Long Beach Poly baseball team is heading into 2026 with renewed championship expectations under second-year head coach Soloman Williams. The Jackrabbits have won three of the last six Moore League titles but had a tough 2024 before Williams was able to guide them to a 16-14 overall season and a third-place finish in league last year.<\/p>\n

This season the Jackrabbits feature senior shortstop and UCLA commit Tate Hammond as well as flamethrower Ryan King, a Bakersfield commit, on the mound.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now we know that we got third place the last two years and the only way to show that we\u2019re a top program again like we were under coach (Brent) Lavoie is we gotta go beat those teams and win the league,\u201d said Williams. \u201cWe have a chip on our shoulder\u2013we know that people look past us sometimes.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to imagine people looking past the Jackrabbits this year with the blend of experienced and up-and-coming talent on their roster. Hammond is a big name in Southern California with the UCLA commit, as well as a number of big showcase performances including at the BBG All-American Game, where he was named the Offensive MVP.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m extremely blessed for all the opportunities, and this year I\u2019m just trying to have fun with my guys,\u201d said Hammond. \u201cWe have a small senior class and it\u2019s all guys I\u2019ve been playing with for the last four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hammond said that the Jackrabbits are having a lot of fun together as a group, but that there\u2019s a shared urgency around winning this year.<\/p>\n

\"The562<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we want to win badly,\u201d he said. \u201cI haven\u2019t won it myself\u2013Poly won my freshman year but I haven\u2019t won it. We\u2019re a get dirty, hustle, gritty team, that\u2019s who we are.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams is high on Hammond and what he brings to the table as a player and as a leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s had a year of development and getting stronger, he\u2019s really put his head down and work towards his goal of being a Division 1 and future professional player,\u201d said Williams. \u201cHe makes plays on the bases, he hits for power even against the top competition in the nation. He\u2019s our team leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the mound, King has taken a big jump this year with that power fastball and has been living in the 90s even deep into games\u2013but Williams said he\u2019s more than just a hard thrower.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone in baseball, college and scouts have noted how improved he is,\u201d said Williams. \u201cHe\u2019s taller, he\u2019s stronger, he throws harder, the slider is nastier. He\u2019s just more mature as a pitcher.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Jackrabbits will also have Damian Marques and Malakai Pruitt on the mound this season.<\/p>\n

Behind the dish is junior Caleb Safotu, another leader on the team who has gotten stronger and is a much more mature hitter and catcher.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Around the infield are first baseman Will Trunnelle, second baseman Braylen Reyes (a talented sophomore who will move to short next year), and third basemen Ayden Nakamura and AZ Zuger.<\/p>\n

\u201c(Trunnelle) is an athletic, the type of first baseman that I love because he\u2019s not just \u2018sit back and bang,\u2019 he can run and bunt and play good defense,\u201d said Williams. \u201c<\/p>\n

In the outfield are Fausto Gaxiola III, Marquez, Neil Morris, and Evan Bagley.<\/p>\n

\"Poly\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c(Gaxiola III) can hit and will do anything a coach asks,\u201d said Williams. \u201cHe\u2019s just mashing the ball right now. (Morris) checks all the boxes for a scout\u2013speed, power, he\u2019s in his first year on varsity so he may have some growing pains but we really think he\u2019s going to be a big factor with his arm, speed, and power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams said he\u2019s seen big strides from his players over the last year-plus, and that he\u2019s excited to see them in action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a deeper team than we were last year and I think we have a really good chance to compete for the Moore League,\u201d said Williams. \u201cAs always it will come down to pitching and execution to score runs in those tight games. We\u2019ve spent a lot of time over the Summer and Winter thinking about what changes we need to make to not just have a good swing, but to score runs and have a well-rounded offense.\u201d<\/p>\n

Projected Starters<\/p>\n

P: Ryan King (Sr.) \/ Damian Marquez (Sr.) \/ Malakai Pruitt (Jr.)<\/p>\n

C: Caleb Safotu (Jr.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

1B: Will Trunnelle (Jr.)<\/p>\n

2B: Braylen Reyes (So.)<\/p>\n

SS: Tate Hammond (Sr.)<\/p>\n

3B: Ayden Nakamura (Jr.) \/ AZ Zuger (So.)<\/p>\n

OF: Fausto Gaxiola III (Sr.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

OF: Damian Marquez (Sr.)<\/p>\n

OF: Neil Morris (Jr.) \/ Evan Bagley (So.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The562\u2019s football coverage for the 2025-26 school year is sponsored by Long Beach Poly alums\u00a0Wendell \u201cWoWo\u201d Moe, Jr.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":183362,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[131,133,132],"class_list":{"0":"post-183361","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-long-beach","8":"tag-long-beach","9":"tag-long-beach-headlines","10":"tag-long-beach-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=183361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/183362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=183361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=183361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=183361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}