By Jeremy McDonald
Jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com
SALEM, Ore.– Six summer ago, during the Summer of 2019, Andrew Mhoon found himself in Williamsport, Pennsylvania as a participant in the Little League World Series representing Sprague Little League from little old Salem, Oregon.
And all of these years later, that Summer, that run that they had was still a memorable moment for Mhoon.
“It’s such a surreal experience. It’s a once in a lifetime, not too many people get to go, and to be able to do that, it’s just really cool,” Mhoon starts. “It doesn’t feel like six years ago, but that was one of my biggest accomplishments in my baseball career. To have one that early, it just lets you know early on in your career that anything is possible. It helped me in my career early to see that kind of success is possible.
After the successes on the Little League field, Mhoon continued to develop through his High School years. Playing at Sprague during the High School season, Mhoon developed the skills that eventually led to him being named to the first-team All-Central Valley Conference and was a First Team All-State selection as an infielder as a senior in 2025. The Olympians went 16-10 this past Spring and reached the 6A State Quarterfinals.
Mhoon credits Head Coach Luke Buccheitt, assistant coach Brian Stinnett, and 2023 Olympian-grad Brandon Stinnett as some of his influences in his development in High School.
‘It’s been a blessing,” said Mhoon. “I didn’t know going into High School whether I was going to go to Sprague or not, but making that decision was one of the best decisions I’ve made in my life. Buccheit, it was a blast to be able to play with him, even Coach Stinnett, and even playing with Brandon. (Brandon) taught me a lot, playing shortstop my sophomore year and me playing second base. Just having those older guys pushing you to where my junior and senior years I was team captain, it was really good playing 6A, higher level of baseball, it really taught me a lot. Buccheit, as a person, taught me a lot as a man, and I’m grateful to have him as a coach and to be able to play for Sprague.”
After graduating, Mhoon wasn’t done just yet. After spending the past few Summer’s playing with the Baum Bats organization, Mhoon got an opportunity to play with the Marion Berries in his hometown during the squad’s inaugural season. Having played in 23 games this Summer, splitting time between second base and Left Field, Mhoon has contributed to the Berries 19-21 start to the year while batting .313 with nine RBI’s on the year in 80 At-Bats.
It’s preparing him for Loyola Marymount University going up against some high-caliber College Baseball players, some who are currently playing at the Division-1 level already. It’s that preparation mentally and physically that will help him as well as getting used to being one of the youngest guys on the team again.
“It’s been big for me to play all these many games, I think it’ll be really good for me to get used to the College Baseball experience. Playing and trying to balance school, it’s just been a grind mentally and physically,” said Mhoon. “It’s been great to prepare me for college to be able to play this kind of high-level of baseball and getting used to the culture of being the youngest guy again. Going from senior, team captain at Sprague to a week later, I’m one of the youngest guys on the team. It’s been really fun.
“I can continue to just stay disciplined. It’s a lot of games and just being able to stay disciplined and just to bring that same mentality every game, not to take a rep off and continue to push through this long, hot summer and be the best player that I can be.”
Mhoon has gotten to experience a lot of top moments in his baseball career, and the kid just graduated from High School with at least four to five years left ahead of him with College. It’s been a humbling experience for Mhoon, but he’s staying within himself with a confident swagger he carries upon himself.
“I’ll forever be humble to be playing on stages like this and playing at the college level. It’s cool to be playing with people who are getting drafted and playing at these higher colleges. The hard work has made me able to fit in, I don’t feel out of place here. I feel like I can compete and stuff. It’s been really cool to play with a higher level of talent against a higher level of people, and it’s a really cool experience,” said Mhoon.
Photos By Jeremy McDonald
