Liberty Bluejays baseball: Locked in on success
LIBERTY, Mo. — Just three head coaches. That鈥檚 all they have had in 49 years of baseball at Liberty High School. It is a history of remarkable success: 19 conference championships, 16 district championships, two top-three state finishes, and one runner-up. Last season the Bluejays reached the pinnacle as state champions, their second state title in program history. At the helm, since 2004, is head coach Kirk Bragg.
When coach Bragg started with Liberty as an assistant in the 1990s, he brought with him a background of athletic excellence and success. He played tennis and baseball and was a stand-out basketball player at Millard South high school in Omaha Nebraska, earning all-state honors two times. He was on a team that won several state basketball championships. He eventually graduated from the University of Nebraska Omaha, where he played college baseball.
Last year, along with the state championship, coach Bragg鈥檚 Bluejays finished with 32 wins鈥攁 program record.聽鈥淚t was one of the most difficult seasons, but also at the same time it was very rewarding how tough it was to get there,鈥� says Bragg. 鈥淲e played everyone. We played Kansas鈥� top schools. We played the top teams in Missouri. It was a grueling schedule. We faced a lot of adversity. We were playing such good baseball by the end. It wasn鈥檛 a lot of coaching. It was just a team that worked. Every inning, every situation, they just knew how to adapt to it. The next thing you know we just kept rolling.鈥�
For the 2022 season, the emphasis for the Bluejays is to find an offense that can stay with their pitching, which is the strength of the team. 鈥淲hen you look at pitching and defense, we knew that with our arms coming back, we have had a lot of guys that have spent time in the fire,鈥� says Bragg.
One of those arms that has been through the fire is that of senior right-hand pitcher, Karson Milbrandt, who has committed to attend and play baseball at Vanderbilt next year. Last season he had an ERA of 2.38, with 10 wins. Along with a tight slider, he鈥檚 been clocked at 98 mph, and his fastballs can average in the 90s during games. Some sources think he might make a high round draft position in the MLB draft.
His only pre-game ritual is drinking QT chocolate milk. The long-limbed Milbrandt grew up in Liberty and played both basketball and baseball for the Bluejays. He made great use of his time during quarantine to work on his strength training and improve his pitch speed. As he got stronger the higher pitch velocity came along with it.
What does Karson love about baseball?聽His answer is one word: 鈥渃ompeting.鈥� The high-pressured nature of playoff and championship baseball gets him locked in. 鈥淭he聽most exciting game last year was the state championship game,鈥� says Milbrandt. The Bluejays won that game 8-4 over Ft. Zumwalt. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got their coaches getting ejected. Their fans were getting thrown out of the stands. It was like a basketball student section that was 10-15 rows deep, and they were all chirping at me. I love that environment.鈥�
Another senior that brings the heat is pitcher Ben Sundell, whose favorite subjects in school are math and history.聽Last season, he had an ERA of .246 in 13 games. Sundell is committed to attend Washington and Lee University in Virginia, next Fall. Ben was born and raised in Liberty, he played various sports in Liberty Parks and Rec in his youth. He started competitive baseball at age nine. In high school he competed on both the swimming and baseball teams.
鈥淚 always loved to pitch. It was the preferred position. I never threw any harder than other pitchers when I was younger,鈥� says Sundell. 鈥淲hen high school came, it was clear that I was better at being a pitcher than at any other position.鈥� Ben doesn鈥檛 like to eat for six hours before a start. And he likes to be the first guy at the ballpark on his game days.
鈥淭here is no magic pill to velocity or strikes. It鈥檚 just how much of a dude do you want to be, and how much work do you want to put in? We have a lot of pitchers, so it is hard to get your innings,鈥� says Sundell. 鈥淥nce the season starts 鈥� everyone is rooting for each other to win. And everyone knows there will be opportunities, but there is definitely a competitive atmosphere in practice for sure.鈥�
Coach Bragg and the staff have been going through the process of getting this team to play at the highest level this year. 鈥淲hen you look at the offense that we had last year, we had a lot of guys that produced a lot of offense,鈥� says Bragg. 鈥淭his team has taken on the challenge, we have really practiced every day on hitting or situational things to score runs, and our offense is really good. We are only going to get better down the line.鈥�
Stepping up this year to get the offense going, has been junior short-stop Addison Smith. Last season, he batted .342 and had an OBP of .451. He grew up playing three sports, but when it came time for high school, his sport was baseball. Smith has been on the Royals鈥� scout team since reaching 14U, with practices at the Urban Youth Academy in Kansas City. The organization has produced 160 MLB drafted players, and 34 MLB debut players. The team travels all around the country in the Summers.
In the Spring, Smith loves being a Bluejay. 鈥�You are playing for your school and not for yourself.聽All of us try to bond and we take it seriously, but we try to have as much fun as possible. All of us are really good friends, and I am playing with my best friends,鈥� says Smith. 鈥淭he coaches want to teach you how to grow up as men. I love rivalry games and big games.聽 I don鈥檛 know what athlete wouldn鈥檛 want to play in a big game like that. It is a lot of fun.鈥�
鈥淭he environment is unlike club baseball,鈥� says Sundell.聽 鈥淗igh school baseball is all about the team, and there is no 鈥榠鈥� in team in high school baseball.聽 In the Summer it is about looking good and getting recruited.鈥澛�
鈥淟iberty baseball is system baseball,鈥� says Milbrandt. 鈥淚t is more than just hitting. It is bunts. It鈥檚 slash and run. It鈥檚 fake bunts. We are always working to move runners.鈥�
鈥淚 think coach Bragg is the best game manager in the state,鈥� says Sundell. 鈥淲hen you step on the field he will do everything in his power to make sure it is our day. There is no doubt you have your best shot to win. He loves all the guys, and he wears his heart on his sleeve.鈥�
鈥�Experiences mature you. I don鈥檛 give post game speeches. We prepare for a game, and face the adversities that happen, and we don鈥檛 get caught up in a win or a loss, we just get caught up in what we are doing to eliminate reasons to lose,鈥� says Bragg. 鈥淭hey are kids, they get it. They know when we don鈥檛 pitch well, field well, or hit well, and I don鈥檛 need to harp on them. I trust them. We know what we are trying to do. We have a lot of work to do to hopefully win the games that are important, and those are the district and playoff games.鈥�
Coach Bragg鈥檚 overriding philosophy on coaching is to be transformational. 鈥�Be a leader for the kids. Help them. Treat them with respect. You will get more out of it than just chasing wins and losses, says Bragg. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know my record. The only thing I care about is just when you are a coach your number one priority is to lead. I feel like if you have led them then you have been successful. Kids need leadership and they need structure. If you do those two things, then you are doing just fine.鈥�
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