The 2022 All O-Zone Baseball team has been released.

Many factors were used to decide the players included below.

The biggest factor in narrowing down the players on this list was coach input. I asked coaches to both submit names of their players they thought should be included while also giving me names of players on opposing teams that stood out. Opposing coach nominations carried heavy weight in the decision-making process. Baseball teams play more than 25 games a year seeing hundreds of opposing players, so if a player stood out enough for a coach to mention them as one of the best they saw, it carried weight in our decision-making process.

Stats and postseason honors (all-league, all-conference, all-state) were also heavily considered in the process.

While I did not personally see every player in person on this list, someone who covers games for the O-Zone did and I used both my observations and theirs to narrow down the list.

Finally, baseball is the most difficult All O-Zone team to do based on the sheer number of players in our coverage area and the unpredictability of the sport. There are more than 110 teams in our coverage area and just 50 spots on this team. At a conservative average of 15 players seeing varsity innings per team means 1,650 players would be eligible for consideration. Narrowing that list down  is a very difficult task. Kickapoo selections were as follows:

FIRST TEAM 2022 ALL-O-ZONE BASEBALL TEAM

Noah Wilkinson, Catcher

The area has a ton of standout catchers and Noah Wilkinson is on the short list as one of the best. The Ozark Conference Player of the Year hit .367 with a 1.119 OPS including 12 doubles, five home runs and 36 RBI. He coupled that strong hitting line with some of the best defense from the position in southwest Missouri.

STATS: .367 BA, .477 OBP, 1.119 OPS, 12 2B, 5 HR, 36 RBI, 16 runs
HONORS: Class 6 Second-Team All-State Catcher; Ozark Conference Player of the Year; Unanimous First-Team All-Ozark Conference Catcher, First-Team All-Class 6 District 6, Missouri HOF Sports Commission Player Of The Year Nominee .

THIRD TEAM 2022 ALL-O-ZONE BASEBALL TEAM

Evan Vienhage, Infield

STATS: .366 BA, .522 OBP, 1.146 OPS, 13 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 28 RBI, 40 runs, 22 SB
HONORS: Class 6 Honorable Mention All-State Infielder; Unanimous First-Team All-Ozark Conference Infielder, Honorable Mention All-District

HONORALBLE MENTION 2022 ALL-O-ZONE BASEBALL TEAM

Cross Kubik, Pitcher

STATS: 9-0, 55.1 IP, 53 K, 1.14 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, .176 BAA
HONORS: Ozark Conference Pitcher of the Year; Unanimous First-Team All-Ozark Conference Pitcher, First-Team All-Class 6 District 6