HARDWICK – Hazen Union’s Grayson McNaughten was a bright spot for a struggling Wildcat baseball team this past spring, landing himself First Team Capital League honors with a breakout junior season.
photo by Vanessa Fournier
McNaughten was promising prospect at Craftsbury Academy (CA) before diving into Hazen athletics full-time as a sophomore. He will be a senior anchor for the both the Wildcat soccer and baseball programs next season. His First Team selection in the vaunted Capital doesn’t come easy, in a league that produces perennial state champions and contenders. Just this past spring, Thetford Academy represented the Capital League with their second Division III state title in three seasons, with Lyndon Institute (15-1) and U-32 (12-6) making it to the Division II Final Four. Montpelier beat up on league opponents all season with a 9-4 record and division I North Country’s only loss in the Capital was to Thetford. McNaughten anchored the Wildcat infield and batted .380 at the plate, belting 4 doubles, swiped 12 bases, and drove in a team-high nine runs on the season. He also anchored a young Hazen pitching staff with a team-high 35 innings pitched, striking out 42 batters.
“Grayson is the kind of athlete that showed up to work every day, giving 150% in both practice and games. There were multiple coaches in the Capital that commented throughout the season on his hustle and positive attitude. He works on himself on and off the field and his love for the game shows through in his approach to every play. His approach and style elevated his teammates and going into next season, our coaching staff will be looking to him as a leader. We have a lot of players on our young team that bring the same desire, they just haven’t unlocked their full potential yet. Grayson leads by example, not by criticism, and I think he’s the man for the job to continue to elevate this team next season,” said head coach Shaun Allen.
Junior teammate Owen Skorstad earned Honarable Mention after leading the Wildcats with a .420 batting average and a team-high 29 stolen bases. Joining McNaughten with First Team honors were Lyndon Institute’s Wyatt Mason, Ethan Lussier, and Logan Wheeler, Thetford’s JD Farrell and Xander Oshoniyi, North Country’s Kaden Jones and Ben West, Maddox Heise (U-32), Ryan Germaine (Lamoille), Griffin Pike (Oxbow), Nick Casey (Harwood), and Montpelier’s Clayton Foster.
Mason captured Capital League Player of the Year honors and Viking head coach Jeremy Wheeler was tabbed Coach of the Year after leading Lyndon to a 13-0 regular season record.
