Senior helped Cardinals earn a three-way split of North Central League I crown
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LAKE COUNTY >> Clear Lake High School senior Sawyer Smith is the co-most valuable player on the 2026 edition of the All-North Central League I baseball team as selected by a vote of the league’s coaches.
Smith helped Clear Lake finish in a three-way tie with Kelseyville and St. Helena for the league title this season. A standout pitcher and key part of the Cardinals’ batting order, Smith missed Clear Lake’s final two games – a league tiebreaker win over Kelseyville and a sectional playoff loss to Moreau Catholic with a sore back muscle.
Smith shared the league MVP award with Fort Bragg junior shortstop/pitcher Chris Hernandez, the league’s top hitter. The Timberwolves finished 10-4 in the league standings, just one game behind 11-3 tri-champs Clear Lake, Kelseyville and St. Helena squads.
First team
Six of the nine players selected on the All-League first team were from Lake County. Honored were Clear Lake senior center fielder Jesse Hayes and senior pitcher/infielder AJ Bruch, senior pitcher Jon Hawkins of Middletown, and the Kelseyville sophomore trio of pitcher/outfielder JD Smart, catcher Case Pivniska and infielder Carson Stone.
Also honored on the first team were St. Helena senior Adam Herdell and St. Helena junior Julian Earls, and Fort Bragg junior pitcher/third baseman Carter Killion.
Second team
Named to the All-League second team were Clear Lake senior catcher Zane McAuley, Clear Lake senior shortstop Johnny Gonzales III, Kelseyville junior pitcher/outfielder Brayton Thomas, Kelseyville sophomore infielder Deake Lyndall, Middletown senior center fielder Hayden Xavier, Upper Lake senior Mikel Compton, and Lower Lake senior catcher/pitcher Ashton Hartmann.
Other second-team selections were St. Helena seniors Charlie Blaum and Cole Joy, Cloverdale sophomore Evan Robledo, and Fort Bragg senior pitcher/infielder Dane Salo.
Honorable mentions
Honorable mentions went to Clear Lake senior Ryken Villanueva, Clear Lake sophomore Ezekiel Lopez, Upper Lake senior George Rahmer, Kelseyville sophomore Elijah Watkins, Lower Lake junior Brody Shields, Middletown senior Hunter Karp, St. Helena senior Huck Anderson, St. Helena junior Kai Blasingame, and Fort Bragg seniors Sawyer Schlafer and Luke Fosse.
Voting
The number of All-League selections a team receives is largely determined by where a team finishes in the league standings and if a team’s coach participates in the All-League meeting. Clear Lake led the way with seven, Kelseyville and St. Helena each had six players honored while Fort Bragg had five, Middletown (6-8) three, Cloverdale (5-9) one, Upper Lake (1-13) two and Lower Lake (1-13) two.
All of the league teams were represented at the All-League meeting except Cloverdale.
