With a Steed leading the Colts, this Cottonwood baseball team is getting back to basics
Apr 21, 2025 11:36PM ● By Brian Shaw
In new head coach Travis Steed’s estimation, the Cottonwood High baseball team is making some progress, and yet has a long way to go.
4A is a tough classification the Colts are in, arguably the toughest since schools span from north Cache County all the way south to St. George and feature about a half-dozen programs that play the sport year -round. For that very reason, it is vital to Coach Steed that his boys focus on the fundamentals—since the Colts only get good weather for about eight months out of the year.
“More than anything we just need to make sure we’re focusing on our baseball IQ and making the plays we’re supposed to make,” Coach Steed said. “Fundamentals are extremely important and they can make or break a winning team.”
Make no mistake about it; Cottonwood is winning more than it is losing.
The Colts started the season on a seven-game winning streak, something that hasn’t been accomplished at the school since Jason Crawford was leading Cottonwood to multiple deep runs at the state tournament and winning several state titles to go with it.
Cottonwood [9-5] walloped Uintah 8-3 to open the season—then 10-run ruled Summit Academy and Gunnison Valley. The Colts then beat Taylorsville 5-2 and Timpview 7-6 in an eight-inning marathon to wrap up the first month of play, all non-league games.
To lead off Region 10 play, Cottonwood took the field against Tooele for a three-game series starting March 25. In game one, the Colts held a 3-1 lead through the seventh inning when the Buffs’ bats exploded for two runs to send the game into extra innings.
In the eighth, the Colts scored five runs in the top of the inning capped off by a three-run homer from senior Isaiah Cosby, and Zane Wayman threw five strikeouts, which was just enough to hold off the feisty Buffs in an 8-7 battle. Brighton Young and Dominick Fuchuck each slapped doubles and the team combined for 14 hits in the victory.
In game two of the series, Cottonwood got out to a 3-0 lead in the first but the Buffs came back with five in the top of the third inning. The Colts answered with two of their own to knot the game at 5-5 through three. Tooele got four in the fourth and the Colts responded with six in the sixth. After that, Cottonwood hung on for an 11-10 win to take the first series of the Region 10 slate despite losing game three, 5-2.
The Colts moved on for a three-game series against Stansbury. In uncharacteristic fashion, Cottonwood lost the first game 7-2, giving the Colts their first losing streaking streak on the season. However, in games two and three, Cottonwood got its act together and won 11-5 after a 7seven-run explosion in the seventh in game two and then closed out another successful series win with a gutty 6-4 victory in game three.
According to Steed, several players have stood out for him thus far.
“So far we’ve gotten great pitching performances from Brighton Young, Milo Crayk and Zane Wayman,” said the first-year coach. “Offensively, we’ve seen great things from Porter Stonebraker, Angel Mavarez and Joaquin Reymus.”
At the halfway mark of the season, Young, a senior, has already faced 96 batters and allowed just 28 hits. He has a 3-1 record with a 4.70 ERA, best among any Colts pitchers with more than 20 innings and is the only Colts regular starter to have not given up a home run thus far. Juniors Wayman and Crayk also pitched more than 20 innings apiece for Cottonwood. In five appearances, Crayk has a 3-1 mark with a 5.26 ERA and a team-high 25 strikeouts, and Wayman—who is usually the game one starter in region matchups—has a 2-2 record with a 6.26 ERA.
At the plate, Stonebraker, a junior, is batting .444 with two RBI while sophomore Joaquin Reymus is opening some eyes, having had nine RBI to go with his 12 hits. Mavarez, a senior, is only one of six boys to have played in all 14 games for the Colts, and leads the team with a .462 batting average.
Cottonwood will continue its Region 10 slate through April. In Class 4A’s initial RPI determining seeding for the upcoming 4A state tournament, the Colts were No. 12.
