Los Molinos' Nathan Stelzriede named Northern Section Baseball Coach of the Year.
The Los Molinos High School varsity baseball team has qualified for the last four section championship games, winning three of them.
This year, the title earned its coach, Nathan Stelzriede, the Northern Section 2026 Coach of the Year honors.
The award is voted on by a media panel that includes Kevin Askeland of Max Preps, Aaron Williams of Play on Sports, Justin Couchot of the Chico Enterprise Record, Brett Abrams of the Redding Record Searchlight, Rick Silva of the Red Bluff Daily News and Jamie Corriea, and Jeff Larson of The Marysville Appeal Democrat.
When he was informed that he was going to be the coach of the year, Stelzriede was surprised.
"Oh wow. Wow, that's unbelievable," he said, That's, yeah, very unexpected and very grateful."
But he said what makes this year so special is the players that he had, particularly his seniors.
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Parker Heitman, led the Bulldogs this year and was named to the Second Team All-Northern Section team as an all-around athlete, (Crystal Saxton- Contributed)
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Los Molinos varsity baseball coach Nathan Stelzriede accepts the Northern Section first place plaque for winning the title against Biggs on May 23.(Crystal Saxton- Contributed)
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Los Molinos varsity baseball coach Nathan Stelzriede shakes hands with his catcher Parker Heitman between innings Of a game in Los Molinos. (Crystal Saxton- Contributed)
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Parker Heitman was named to the Second Team All- Section team as an all-around athlete. The senior two-year captain hit .413 with 26 RBIs, five doubles, and a pair of triples.(Crystal Saxton- Contributed)
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Los Molinos Varsity baseball coach Nathan Stelzriede gets doused by water following The Bulldogs' 11-1 Victory over Biggs in the section championship on May 23. Stelzriede Was named as the Northern Section Coach of the Year on Friday by a Media panel. (Crystal Saxton- Contributed)
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Parker Heitman, led the Bulldogs this year and was named to the Second Team All-Northern Section team as an all-around athlete, (Crystal Saxton- Contributed)
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"I may sound cliché, but that's my first group. It's been four years. We came in together. So for me, I think they're always going to hold a special place, and 10 of them, and each one is different," he said. "Each one does something different, and that's what makes it work for us."
He noted that the senior group has been playing together since they were eight or nine years old and are like brothers.
Leading that group was Parker Heitman, who led the Bulldogs this year and was named to the Second Team All- Section team as an all-around athlete. The senior two-year captain hit .413 with 26 RBIs, five doubles, and a pair of triples.
" He is, he's literally the heart and soul of this team. He, being a catcher, is half coach, half player, half physical therapy, you know, mental therapist," he said. "He's out there working everybody, keeping them together, putting them in the right places.
Stelzriede said that he trusts Heitman to be his voice on the field.
" I don't try to do a lot of mound visits, don't like to do that," he said. "He knows when to go out. He knows when to look at me, and we make eye contact, and somehow he can read my mind, and we go from there."
He said that when he came to the program as a freshman, there was already a catcher in place. But Heitmann told him he would be his starting catcher for the next three years, and he turned out to be just that.
This year, Stelzriede led the Bulldogs to a 23-6 record, including an unbeaten 6-0 mark in the Five Star League. They beat Biggs 11-1 in the section championship to claim their second straight title, before losing to Skyline 5-1 in the first round of the Norcal Regionals.
Stelzriede has led the Bulldogs to an 82-28 record and has won at least 17 games every year in that four-year span. Last year's 24-7 season, which concluded with the 2-1 Northern Section Championship victory over Maxwell, was the Bulldogs' most wins since at least 2003.
He also credits his coaching staff for that success in this four-year stretch.
"Our coaches, my coaches. I'm very lucky to have the three best coaches (Kyle Button, Robert Gillett, Ricky Fimea) any guy could ask for," he said. "They each bring something to the table that puts in these kids, you know, defensively, offensively and pitching-wise, and we make it all work together."
The Northern Section Baseball Player of the Year was Tanner Abbott of Gridley. Abbott hit .417 this year and drove in 30 runs and struck out just four times in 90 plate appearances
On the mound, he appeared in 13 games, winning nine of them without a loss and holding teams to a 0.72 ERA. He tossed two shutouts and three no-hitters. In 59 2/3 innings pitched, he allowed just 19 hits, six earned runs, walked just 27, and struck out 134 batters.
Below is the entire northern section baseball team.
First team
Pitchers: Holden Franks, Pleasant Valley; Vinny Boatwright, Chico; Tanner Abbott, Gridley. Infielders: C- Wyatt Denton Las Plumas; 1B – Landon Lynch, Durham; 2B – Gunner Church, West Valley; 3B – Blake Schwerdt, Foothill (Palo Cedro); SS – Clayton Harris, Etna; Outfielders: Jaxxon Tweedt, Chico; Brevan Ring, Durham; Colton Douglas, Foothill (Palo Cedro); AA – Scott McKeown, Pleasant Valley
Second Team
Pitchers: Dennis Dewhurst, Biggs, Roy Alexander, Orland, Jack Ampi, University Prep; Infielders: C – Colt Montgomery, Maxwell 1B – Bryton Miller, West Valley 2B – Dominic Pacheco, Orland; 3B – Giuseppe Bianchi, Chico; SS – Landon Kirack, Lassen. Outfielders: Eli Kennedy, Shasta,- Drason Recio, Central Valley, Cole Jordling, Winters, Parker Heitman, Los Molinos.
Coach of the Year awards
As part of the Coach of the Year Award celebration for the All-Northern Section baseball and softball teams, two veteran coaches have been selected to have all future Coach of the Year Awards named in their honor.
For baseball, the award will now be known as the Chip Carton Northern Section Baseball Coach of the Year Award, named after longtime Chico coach and athletic director Chip Carton. Carton, the head coach of the Panther baseball team from 1993 to 2018, and his teams won seven Northern Section championships. He was named Northern Section Coach of the Year in 1998 and 2014.
For softball, the award will now be known as the J. Howell Northern Section Softball Coach of the Year Award, named after longtime Red Bluff coach J. Howell. The head coach of the Spartans from 1990 to 2013, Howell won a section record 473 games and nine Northern Section championships. He was named All-Northern Section coach of the year in 1992, 1999 and 2009.
Other All-Northern Section coaching awards have previously been named for Bob Reid of Anderson (football), Mike Haworth of Enterprise (volleyball), Phil Bryant of Westwood (boys basketball), Richard Hull of Willows (girls basketball), Mike Vought of Pleasant Valley (boys soccer), and Rick Colson of Colusa (girls soccer).
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