06/26/2026
High school baseball is in full swing and Cedar Falls is a top 10 state in the season sitting at 19-6. The team means a little more to me since I am a CF kid and coached in the program for multiple years. The staff has a 3.32 ERA this year while holding opponents to a batting average of only .233.
I wanted to highlight the guys who took on the challenge of a 9 month throwing program and are now seeing the hard work pay off. Many are seeing major innings at the varsity level. Of the top 10 pitchers in innings pitched, 9 of them were part of throwing programs this past year
Landon Meinders: Underclassman who has pitched the most varsity innings so far and is striking out over 30% of the batters he has faced. He worked on mechanical changes to help him be more athletic, and started working on better secondary offerings that will help to get batters out as he pitches multiple times through the order.
Ben Nichols: After committing to Kirkwood in the early offseason, he didn’t stop working to continue developing. He has pitched in many of CFs biggest games and is a big reason they have been able to pull them out. Ben also went through a significant mechanical change in his lower half this offseason during his throwing program, and really committed himself to the weight room as he goes into college. The biggest positive for Ben however is the development of his command. When we discussed a throwing program for him after his sophomore year, he had averaged almost 2 walks an inning. This year, that number is below 0.5 walks an inning. That turnaround happened because of consistent work and the commitment to focus on something he needed to get better at (command), rather than things that everyone wants to improve (velocity).
Kellen Hines: Despite missing a good chunk of the offseason with a hip surgery, he came back eager to get better and learn. Another underclassman making big contributions for a top 10 varsity team. He has a 1.58 ERA in his last 5 games after a shaky start. During his time in the offseason throwing program, he improved his mobility as he came back from his surgery and cleaned up some positions with his glove arm.
Ciaran Wenzel: Maybe the biggest “surprise” to those outside of the program, but Ciaran has been working for 3 years to find his identity on the mound. His offseason work focused on refining both his changeup and slider. Now with a pitch mix that keeps varsity hitters off balance, and some of the best command out of any of the high schoolers I’ve worked with (only 6 walks total this year), he is showing what the result is when consistent work and dedication are put in year over year.
Joey Goodwin: Joey was another kid similar to Ben who struggled with walks last year. His big offseason program focus was command training and consistency with his motion. He was throwing from a slightly different arm angle than what was comfortable for him, and causing some inconsistency around release. After adjusting his arm angle, he settled in and was able to stay more consistent. So far this year, he is walking just above 0.5 batters an inning, which is a major improvement from last season.
Jack Wilson: Jack has embraced his role this year and is one of the best closers in the entire state. He’s given up 1 run in 16 innings this year with an unheard of 7 K/BB ratio. He continued his focus of adding strength in the weight room during his program, along with starting to learn the importance of tracking food to ensure he’s maximizing the amount of weight and muscle he can put on.
Blake Jones: Blake came into this offseason with 1 focus - adding velocity. He has had lights out command his whole career and stepping up to the varsity level meant making sure he could pair higher velocity with his command. While going through high intensity days during his offseason program, his body learned what it felt like to move fast and be explosive. This helped him transition those movements to the mound to gain some velocity while keeping his elite command. He’s only walked 2 in 13 innings this year, and picked up a win in his first varsity start this year on Tuesday going 5 innings, allowing 2 runs, and striking out 8 against Cedar Rapids Jefferson.
Kaleb Theisen: Kaleb dealt with an injury towards the middle of an aggressive velocity program as he set a goal to try and get on coaches radars at the next level. Despite the injury, he was able to bounce back and has just started to pitch in games as of this week! And in his first outings, he has yet to allow an earned run. In his first outing of the season (and first game action pitching in months), he came in for 3 scoreless innings in the 10th, 11th, and 12th against a ranked Waukee Northwest team to earn the win. Kaleb’s story shows what happens when the process is followed, even with setbacks along the way. Once he was recovered from his injury, the results still came along because of all of the prep work that happened in the months prior.
Ceth Barry: Ceth came into the offseason with his goal in mind clear: contribute to the varsity team in any way possible. As a sophomore who would be experiencing varsity for the first time in the following year, he identified what the difference was between a good sophomore pitcher and a good varsity pitcher. Despite not pitching as many innings as others on this list, he has worked his way into the bullpen to be a very reliable piece for the Tiger team. Another guy who put in his work behind the scenes during the offseason, stacking one consistent day after another to turn into the pitcher he is today.
