photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Will Grimes sets up to hit in a Wednesday, March 19, 2025, morning practice Lawrence baseball practice at Centennial School in Lawrence.

The Lawrence baseball team will take to the diamond on Thursday with a new look.

At the helm is coach Adam Green, a longtime assistant to the team now in his first year leading the program. On the field is a team that graduated 14 seniors last year, with only four seniors this season. Many of the team’s top contributors this year will be in their first year playing varsity baseball.

“That’s who we are — we’re going to go through this together,” Green said.

The Lions are excited to hit the field again and learn about themselves this year. There have been a few changes with the program since Green took over. For one, pitchers like Brice Schwada are running in practice.

“Everything is kind of new this year with the new coach,” Schwada said. “I actually do stuff during practice now. We’re throwing more, we’re running. Conditioning was a lot harder this year, but practices have been easy, smooth and fun.”

Schwada has enjoyed having Green as the head coach so far. What has stood out to him the most is Green’s desire to win.

“He wants it bad,” Schwada said. “He wants to win. I like it.”

Green believes his pitching staff has some real potential, and he’s intrigued by how it’ll look once games get rolling. Schwada, a contact pitcher, has trust in his infield behind him to do their job. He will need the defense as much as the team will need the best from the staff.

“Everything starts there (with pitching),” Green said. “We’ve got some dudes who can pitch well, and they’ll need to. We’re going to try to give as much confidence as we can through practice and positive feedback.”

The Lions start with four seniors and 17 juniors in the program, only a few of whom have played extensively for the Lions before. This will be a year of growth for the Lions; the team should finish the year as a different team than how it started.

Many of the juniors on the roster were junior-varsity players last season, so they have a good number of innings played under their belts. However, they’ll still have to figure out the jump in competition and skill that comes with varsity. Senior infielder Logan Sheldon said the optional hitting practices in the mornings have helped them get ready.

“They’ll be fine with it,” Sheldon said of the younger players getting varsity experience for the first time. “The biggest thing is getting used to the difference in pitching. That’ll be big.”

Green and Sheldon both said the team has good cohesion, and many players have experience playing alongside each other, which can help them assimilate to the varsity team.

Where the Lions lack varsity baseball experience, they make up for it with varsity experience in other sports.

“We have multi-sport athletes that I’ve seen play football on Friday nights, I’ve seen them play basketball on Friday nights,” Green said. “We bring varsity competition experience, which I really like. I like multiple-sport athletes. We’ll always welcome guys that do multiple sports.”

They may not be used to the speed of varsity pitching in the Sunflower League come the first game, but they understand the level of competition. Figuring out the baseball part of it will come during the season.

Green anticipates some lineup maneuvering in the first few games. Players will play a few more positions than they might typically play as Green determines how to get the best product on the field during games.

It has been eight months since the school board approved Green as the school’s next baseball coach. In that time, he’s been busy doing all the administrative and fundraising work that comes with being a head coach. It’s something he’s had to learn on the spot with some help from the baseball community.

“It’s been a steep learning curve,” Green said. “I’m really appreciative of the people who’ve taken the time to support us, from the families of our team to former players. The fundraising is a new part of the job, and I’d be remiss not to give credit to the parents who have helped me do that.”

Now, Green gets to do the fun part he’s here for: coach baseball.

“I tell people, ‘If I can get to the field, that’s where I feel most comfortable,'” Green said. “Now we’re here, and the team is about ready to (play). As a coach, you can only think of the things you haven’t prepared for, not what you have. But we’re just ready to go out and play and see where we’re at and adjust based on what we see out there.”

The Lions start their season on Thursday at 4 p.m., against Lincoln High School from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, at Lawrence High School.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Tristan Prier works the tee in a Wednesday, March 19, 2025, Lawrence baseball practice at Centennial School in Lawrence.