Hauser senior Simeon Wasil is The Republic Baseball Player of the Year. He is pictured on the baseball field Tuesday at Hauser Jr./Sr. High School.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
HOPE — Simeon Wasil was the shutdown pitcher for the Hauser baseball team this year.
The senior was a force to reckon with for opposing batters, as well as pitchers. He was a big key in helping the Jets win their first sectional title in seven years.
“It was definitely hard work. The motto for my travel team is, ‘Hard work pays off.’ It definitely means well,” said Wasil, The Republic Baseball Player of the Year. “Taking time warming up before games, I usually took 30-to-45 minutes before every game. I took my warmups pretty seriously, and I feel like that really paid off.”
Wasil led Hauser this season with a .408 batting average, along with four triples, two home runs and 26 RBIs. On the bump, he posted a perfect 9-0 record with an 0.48 ERA and 114 strikeouts.
One of the biggest things Wasil learned when he was on the mound is mentally tuning out all the outside noise during the game and focusing squarely on the batter.
“I definitely learned about mindset. Having a better mindset toward things and having confidence. Having confidence is key in my opinion. I feel like having good confidence is a really good thing, especially toward the future,” Wasil said. “For me, when I’m on the mound, I just zone out and play my game. I try not to think of anything except throwing strikes. So I think that really helped my mindset for the time I’m on the mound.”
The Jets finished the season 19-4 and went a perfect 12-0 in the Mid-Hoosier Conference. Wasil and his senior class finished 45-3 in the conference and won the MHC title three times in their four years.
Wasil said one of the big keys to having a successful season was energy.
“I feel like I can do better and also communicate better with us having a lot of energy, and I can really feed off of that and have a higher confidence,” he said. “The good thing about our team is that we know each other well, and our communication is very well and I feel like that helped very well winning the Mid-Hoosier Conference.”
This season, Wasil was named All-MHC and the MHC Player of the Year. He was on the All-Sectional 60 Team and was named MVP of the tournament following Hauser’s sectional championship victory over Oldenburg Academy.
Wasil’s season proved to be a historic one. He broke the school’s single-season records with zero losses, fewest runs allowed (8), fewest earned runs allowed (4) and lowest ERA (0.48).
For his career, Wasil ranks first in school history with only two losses as a starter and a 1.82 ERA. He is only one of six pitchers with at least 200 strikeouts in a career.
At the plate, Wasil broke the school record with 16 triples. He is second all-time with 105 runs scored and third with 97 RBIs. He is fourth all-time in hits and doubles with 121 and 26, respectively.
“Pitching, he’s probably one of the top three or four, and hitting, he’s probably one of the top five. Career-wise is probably one of the top-five when you look at the stats,” Hauser coach Mike Flack said. “Because of everything he brings to the table when it comes to defense, when it comes to pitching, when it comes to hitting and putting all that stuff together, he’s probably one of the top players in the history of our program.”
Wasil said he is going to call it a career competitively with baseball. He plans to attend Hobart Institute of Welding Technology in Troy, Ohio, for trade and welding. He said he wouldn’t rule out playing in adult leagues.
Flack will have major shoes to fill for next year.
“He’s one of the best teammates you can have in the dugout,” Flack said. “He’s never up; he’s never down, he’s always picking up his teammates. You couldn’t ask for a better teammate and a kid like that. His upbringing and how he carries himself, whether it’s at school or in the dugout, he’s the best teammate you can have. He’s a top-notch player, a top-notch kid, someone that many coaches would be glad to have on their team. He always led by example.”
Even though Wasil wanted his senior season to extend beyond the regional, he was glad with how his career went playing as a Jet.
“It’s definitely been a privilege playing on this field and playing for Hauser,” Wasil said. “I think we’re a really good school, a really good 1A school. I think we’re really good at sports for 1A, and I like the people and all my teammates. I had a lot of fun. I feel like I learned a lot as a human being.
“I’m very happy and satisfied,” he added. “I really wanted that sectional win, and I got that my senior year, so that’s really exciting. It’s a bummer we lost in regional, but it was still a good career. It was fun.”
The 2025 Republic All-Area Baseball team:
Simeon Wasil, Hauser: The senior went 9-0 with an 0.48 ERA and 114 strikeouts and led the Jets with a .408 batting average, four triples, two home runs and 26 RBIs.
Stryker Gill, Hauser: The junior led the Jets with two home runs, nine doubles, two home runs, 23 stolen bases and 28 runs scored; batted .338 and went 3.0 with a 1.75 ERA.
Kam Blair, Hauser: The junior batted .397 with six doubles, 21 RBIs and 20 runs scored and went 2-2 with a 1.67 ERA.
RJ Foster, Hauser: The junior and went 1-1 with a 3.28 ERA and batted .301 with two triples, 15 RBIs, 19 stolen bases and 27 runs scored.
Holden Pittman, Hauser: The senior went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and batted .275 with 12 RBIs and 16 runs scored.
JD Rotert, Columbus East: The sophomore went 5-2 with a 1.71 ERA and led the Olympians with 18 stolen bases and 18 runs scored.
Drew Rotert, Columbus East: The senior had a 1.33 ERA in 31.2 innings pitched.
Brock Kintner, Columbus North: The junior led the Bull Dogs with a .366 batting average, five doubles, 14 stolen bases, 14 runs scored and went 2-1 with a 1.17 ERA.
Jack Whaley, Columbus North: The freshman batted .310 and led the Bull Dogs with four triples, three home runs, 15 RBIs and 14 runs scored.
Ethan Speer, Jennings County: The freshman led the Panthers with a .419 batting average and one triple and had 15 runs scored.
Alex Brooks, Jennings County: The junior went 3-2 with a team-leading 2.02 ERA
Avynn Whitaker, Edinburgh: The senior led the Lancers with a .531 batting average, four doubles, three home runs, 15 RBIs, 25 runs scored, a 3.55 ERA and 97 strikeouts.
Corbin Johnson, South Decatur: The senior led the Cougars with a .409 batting average, one home run and 14 RBIs.
Justin Terril, Brown County: The senior led the Eagles with a .383 average and four RBIs and had 25 strikeouts pitching.
Drake Goodpaster, Trinity Lutheran: The junior led the Cougars with a .516 batting average, six doubles, 21 RBIs and a 3.06 ERA.
Honorable mention
Brown County: Jade Woolems. Columbus Christian: Cannon Carr. Columbus East: Aiden Bumbalough. Columbus North: Joey Fry. Edinburgh: Milas Burkman. Hauser: Peyton Bennett, Lukas Christian. Jennings County: Cooper Lane, Cole Skinner, Zane Weinhorst. South Decatur: Corey Nugent, JP Scudder. Trinity Lutheran: Nathan Finke.
