Baseball
Northeast Indiana Baseball’s Junior Class: DeKalb Barons
Baseball in Northeast Indiana has produced several quality athletes and quality high school programs. Last season as I covered high school baseball in Fort Wayne and surrounding towns, several teams had sophomore ball-players who were extremely productive; whether at the plate, on the mound, or in the field. With the 2026 season fast approaching, many of those athletes, now juniors, have excellent outlooks going into the season.
Over these next few weeks, I plan to showcase some of the best junior classes in Northeast Indiana. Today, we look at a team whose junior class (as sophomores) helped propel them to a great season; the DeKalb Barons. DeKalb is coming off a 19-7 season and a second-place finish in the Northeast 8 Conference standings. And the Barons’ top three run-producers from that team, are all juniors this year. Not only that, but three of their best pitchers are also juniors.
Brady Vince: Centerfielder/Pitcher
Brady Vince had an outstanding season at the plate for DeKalb as a sophomore. First of all, he was the Barons’ top power hitter, hitting six home runs on the season. In addition to that, he drove in 26 RBI’s (second most on the team) and hit .422 at the plate.
“I would say I have severely improved especially coming from middle school,” Vince said. “We have a great set of coaches, and in the offseason we’re always working on our hitting, spending a lot of time in the open gym, and then I’ve also went and practiced hitting with another trainer out of Fort Wayne called GSP”.
Vince also had three appearances on the mound last year. In those three appearances, he put up a 1.62 earned run average, and struck out 18 batters, while only walking four.
“Again, our open gyms are really something for us, and we take a lot of pride in our pitching in there, because that’s where it all starts in the offseason,” Vince said. “And we’ve really improved this year with our pitching charts. And Coach Sam was just moved up to be our varsity pitching coach for the whole year, so it’s a really good help to have him up with us.”
Drake Hall: Left-Fielder
Of all the primary starters in DeKalb’s lineup, Drake Hall had the best batting average as last year. He hit .452 on the season. Not only did he have a high average. But a lot of his hits were extra base hits. He had five doubles, four triples, and three home runs. Hall also drove in 23 RBI’s. Even in his freshman year, Hall hit .400 in 47 plate appearances. All that production at the plate is no surprise, since Hall takes great advantage of DeKalb’s open gyms.
“I spent a lot of time in the open gyms. We take pride in our hitting,” Hall said. “We’ve hit, probably 45 minutes to an hour almost every open gym. I do a lot of tee work, a lot of BP, and I think that’ll help me.”
Hall also takes a lot of pride in his defensive IQ. That’s no surprise either, since Hall did not commit a single error all of last year.
“I think defense wins championships, so I take a lot of pride in my defense,” Hall said.
Malachi Webb: Pitcher/Third Baseman/First Baseman
Like many high school ball-players, Malachi Webb has played in the field, at the plate, and on the mound. But last year, he made a lot of his noise as a pitcher. Webb pitched 21.2 innings. He struck out 32 hitters and finished with an ERA of 2.26.
“We take pride in our open gym and our off-season stuff,” Webb said. “Our pitching coach does a very good job of getting us through the week with pitching and just charting us up.”
In Webb’s case, he played both JV and varsity ball as a sophomore. At the varsity level, he played 13 games. In addition to his pitching work, Webb hit .250 at the plate.
“We knew that I was gonna come up either this year or next year and have an impact on the team some way,” Web said. “And just to play with those guys again is very good”.
Miles Brockhouse: Pitcher/First Baseman
Miles Brockhouse was DeKalb’s top run-producer as a sophomore. He drove in 31 RBI’s last year and also hit two home run. His batting average was .403. Even as a freshman, Brockhouse drove in 13 RBI’s while hitting .387. Just like his teammates, Brockhouse has also taken advantage of DeKalb’s open gyms.
“Just like the other guys, just open gyms, constantly swinging with trainers with [head coach Collin] Bice, and everybody just trying to get better,” Brockhouse said.
Brockhouse also was one of DeKalb’s most reliable pitchers. He went 3-2 in 33.1 innings pitched, and he led the Barons with 51 strikeouts. He had a 2.10 ERA as well. In his time at DeKalb, Brockhouse has been improving his pitch speed, while also improving the various pitches he throws.
“I’ve gained over four mile and hour [velocity], my slider, changeup, and curveball have all gotten better,” Brockhouse said.
Dalton Cox: Shortstop
Dalton Cox started every game at shortstop last year and played 11 games at short as a freshman. In that experience, Cox was very effective fielding his position. He only gave up three errors all of last year.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot better with range and arm-strength, putting practice in, it’s getting a lot better,” Cox said.
While Cox played so much in the infield last year, he only had 24 plate appearances. In that time, he hit .150 at the plate, but did drive in two runs. Even so, Cox seems to be growing as a hitter. His freshman year, he played mostly JV ball, hitting 377. He’s also put in a lot of work in the offseason. And in communicating with head coach Collin Bice, Cox will likely be a key contributor at the plate as well as in the infield.
“I think I grew a lot hitting a lot with 260 in Fort Wayne in the summer and winter and all that, and getting a lot of reps in,” Cox said. “I think they’re helping me a lot.”
With their ability, Coach Bice is very grateful to have all these juniors on his roster.
“I’m beyond blessed, right! I mean, these guys make me look good,” Bice said. “So, I’m in a very fortunate position where I can let these guys go play the game, just try my best to keep everyone headed in the right direction. But again, they’ve got a ton of talent, and I’m very fortunate to be their head coach.”
