Why Topeka High baseball is not 'succumbing to' pressure but welcoming it

TOPEKA — One successful season is often the goal of any team. Goals are set prior to the season whether it is to improve win total or hoist a trophy at the end.

For others, the motivation is to continue sustained success. Topeka High baseball falls into that realm.

Last season, Topeka High qualified for the state tournament for the first time since 1947. It was nearly unprecedented.

This year, Topeka High is in a great position to make another run deep into the postseason. The Trojans are 15-4 overall and secured the No. 2 seed in the regional tournament. This will be back-to-back seasons that the Trojans have hosted their regional.

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“I have thought about this a lot. There is a lot of pressure on the team and for me, too,” starting pitcher and outfielder Nate Plankinton said. “Holding up to the expectations this year has made me nervous, but so far, we have done alright. This year, there is more pressure, but we are not succumbing to it.”

Plankinton, a senior, simply said the program's turnaround stems directly from coach Cody Miller, who has instilled the importance of little things that have allowed this success to continue.

“Coach Miller completely turned this ball club around,” Plankinton said. “Six years ago, Topeka High wasn’t the best ball club. Now, we have a great coach here and we are building some really good team chemistry.”

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Miller, who smiled when he heard that, placed the credit onto his roster. It was the offseason where the Trojans did not stay complacent. They worked harder and it's allowed them to reap the benefits on the field. The team didn’t think anyone was going to hand them another strong year, they had to earn it.

“Trying to get everyone to buy in to how you want to play,” Miller said. “As a coach, all you can really do on game day is make sure the guys are going to play hard. Our guys have bought in to the people that we want them to be and the program that we want to be.”

The difference-maker for Topeka High is the diversity of this team, according to Plankinton. He explained that through all of their different backgrounds and cultures, they have come together. There was no singular moment but a collective fight and goal of winning has helped this young group create a formidable force in Class 6A.

“I think that is our school in particular. Topeka High has that diverse background, you see an acceptance amongst everybody,” Miller said. “I think everybody just pulls together and when we are going towards the same goal, it makes it pretty easy.”

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On Thursday, Topeka High celebrated their senior class. According to Miller, this class has the most college baseball signees in a long time, possibly all time.

Plankinton will head to Kansas City Kansas Community College next year. Hank Stamper will play his college ball at Fort Hayes State. Matthew Genrich has signed up for Cloud County Community College. Catcher Lee Gonzales will be playing at the next level, too. Plus, Isaiah Kincade has multiple offers to play football and Elijah Elliot also made numerous impacts for the Trojans.

“This great definitely the winningest group in the history of this program and the history of Topeka High,” Miller said.

The regional tournament will begin this week with the Trojans looking to make it the state tournament for back-to-back seasons. Whatever happens, this senior class and the rest of the roster will go down in school history.

A plaudit that Plankinton often thinks about before dozing off.

“I lay awake in bed and just think about how good of a ball club that we have,” Plankinton said.

Liam Keating covers high school sports for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Send stats or information to him at Lkeating@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Topeka High baseball ready to make another state tournament run