Queen Creek Baseball embracing grind as postseason begins

Apr. 30—It's been a tumultuous three years for the Queen Creek High School baseball program.

In 2022, the Bulldogs appeared to be the Cinderella story of the 6A Conference, knocking off powerhouse Hamilton in the semifinals. That is, before a pitch count error was discovered that resulted in the Bulldogs' forfeit of the game, ending their season abruptly.

Head Coach Mikel Moreno took the fall, suspending himself for a year so the Bulldogs could try to repeat the same success in 2023. They did under interim coach David Lopez, making it to the title game where they lost to none other than Hamilton.

This season, they were determined to finally get over the hump. Moreno returned as head coach, and the mindset of the program changed immediately. They're focused on the present rather than the past or future.

"Their willingness to get better each day is the thing I'm most impressed with," Moreno said. "They let me coach them hard and we focus on today. We want to win today, compete today. We don't worry about yesterday, we don't worry about tomorrow, today is the most important day.

"It's our process. We don't focus on the results, we focus on the execution."

No matter if every player follows that process to a T, what the Bulldogs are doing has worked. They held the No. 1 ranking in the 6A Conference all season long. They became the hunted, especially with the talent that returned from last year's team.

Queen Creek is relatively young, with standout players in both the 2025 and 2026 class. That means Moreno gets them for another year, leaving the window of opportunity open.

But his main focus, as well as the players, is this season. They haven't looked at the rankings. They couldn't care less if they were No. 1 or No. 24 barely making it into the play-in tournament. Either way, they're going to grind to succeed their goals. That's the mentality that has been bestowed upon this program.

"It's championship day, every day," sophomore Tait Reynolds said. "Win or lose. Say we win state this year, we will want to win it again next year. We just play our game.

"Every single day we get after it. There're no days off."

Reynolds is one of the standout 2026 players that have made an impact on the Queen Creek roster. He started as a freshman, fitting the mold right away of the type of players that inhabit Queen Creek.

They're gritty. They love to work. And most importantly, they don't take many days off.

Reynolds, who is preparing to enter his second year leading the Queen Creek football program at quarterback, has caught the attention of major Division I football programs. Oklahoma and Miami were the latest schools to offer. He plans to be at spring practices Monday for the football team.

However, his loyalty for the duration of the postseason is still baseball. And even with what seems like a bright future ahead on the gridiron, he's not ruling out the diamond. Especially not now.

"I'm going to carry baseball more than they did," Reynolds said of his brothers. "I'm a breed of one, man. I have that on the side of my glove. I do my own thing."

Reynolds and fellow sophomore Jet Berry have much in common aside from their age. Both had older brothers come through the baseball program. Reynolds had two, but they stuck to football.

Berry's older brother, Jacob, was the No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 draft by the Miami Marlins. He made his MLB debut last season. Berry knows the weight his last name carries at Queen Creek. His oldest sister, Jade, is now playing softball at Stanford. His other sister, Jenae, is preparing to lead the Bulldogs on a playoff run herself and has signed with Indiana.

He is still young, however, and has plenty of time to fulfill his own legacy.

"I'm really grateful for [Jacob] and it's awesome he gets to do that, but at the same time I'm trying to make my own path," Berry said. "I want to make my own imprint here at Queen Creek and in college."

Berry said winning a title for the senior class would be special. But he pointed to Ryker Waite, a junior shortstop in his third year as a starter, specifically. The two share a close bond, much like the rest of the team.

"It's a really close group, as close as we can get," Berry said. "It's a fun team. Every day we come to the field and it's a blast. There's not a bad day."

Even now in the postseason, the Bulldogs are keeping the same mindset. Wins and losses are great, but they're focused on the process of getting better every at bat and every pitch.

That challenges each player to play to the best of their ability every day.

"If we just stay in the moment, it doesn't really matter," Moreno said. "If we play well and we lose, I'm content. If every pitch is important, they're able to control their emotions and execute better than their opponent.

"You have to stay true to yourself."

Have an interesting story? Contact Zach Alvira at (480)898-5630 or zalvira@timespublications.com. Follow him on Twitter @ZachAlvira.