Brookings Friends of Baseball announced four scholarship recipients Friday, awarding Justin Cofell, Nathan Lease, Zach Struck and Parker Winghart each $1,000 for their post-secondary education. The four individuals were recognized during the Bring on Baseball banquet at the Old Sanctuary Reception, Banquet and Lecture Hall.

The Brookings Friends of Baseball Scholarship recognizes graduating seniors who maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0 and best exemplify the organization’s values of being a good citizen and role model for others in the community and participating in Friends of Baseball with the understanding it is for the betterment of the program before themselves.

“Justin, Nathan, Zach and Parker have been tremendous representatives of Friends of Baseball for over 10 years and have been role models for the organization on and off the field,” FOB President Mike Lockrem said. “We are very excited to offer these young men scholarships as they move into the next phase of their lives and begin to pursue their academic dreams and chart their paths to very successful careers. Their leadership and commitment to education are important values, and we are pleased to recognize them for those efforts.”

Cofell, Lease and Struck will graduate from Brookings High School this spring. Winghart attends Luther Preparatory School in Watertown, Wisconsin, and will return in May to play with the Post 74 Senior Legion team this summer.

Cofell plans to attend Lake Area Technical College and be part of its fixed-wing pilot program with the goal of becoming a commercial cargo pilot. Lease plans to attend South Dakota State University and major in business, while Struck will also attend SDSU and has plans to participate on the SDSU Club Hockey team and coach hockey in the Brookings Ice Skating Association. Winghart will attend Martin Luther College in New Ulm, Minnesota, where he will play baseball and major in Spanish education.

Friends of Baseball also presented its Family of the Year Award to Rich and Michele Cofell. The award recognizes one family whose dedicated volunteer service improves the organization, the Brookings community and represents FOB through a commitment to its values.

“Rich and Michele have given countless hours to Friends of Baseball, and their efforts continue to make the organization better,” Lockrem said. “We have all benefitted from their involvement, and we cannot thank them enough for everything they have done to make baseball better for everyone.”

Senior Legion Head Coach Carter Roach also presented Payton Theodosopoulos with the Bob Shelden Award for Excellence, an award that was announced in September. Theodosopoulos was a member of the Post 74 Senior Legion team last summer.

The award is the highest honor given to a student-athlete in Friends of Baseball and recognizes any player from 13U through senior legion who best exemplifies the organization’s values. Those include being committed to reaching their full potential in school, being a good citizen and role model for others in the community and participating in Friends of Baseball with the understanding it is for the betterment of the program before themselves.

“I am very excited for Payton to receive this award and forever be honored by Brookings Friends of Baseball,” Roach said. “He exemplified everything you want in a teammate and a leader within your program. He was someone who we could count on when we needed him in the lineup, but more importantly, he was there for his teammates. Payton was one of the first players to the field and one of the last players to leave the field. He had that type of work ethic, and that was something every coach loves to see. He certainly had an important role and a significant impact on the success of our team last season.”

FOB also recognized Paul Erickson, a longtime employee of the City of Brookings, who recently retired after serving as the primary person who coordinated the maintenance of all the city’s baseball fields, including Bob Shelden Field.

Payton Theodosopoulos, a member of the Brookings Post 74 Bandits Senior Legion team this past season, was recognized by Brookings Friends of Baseball as the inaugural Bob Shelden Award for Excellence recipient.

The award is the highest honor given to a student-athlete in Friends of Baseball and recognizes any player from 13U through senior legion who best exemplifies the organization’s values of being committed to reaching their full potential in school, being a good citizen and role model for others in the community, and participating in Friends of Baseball with the understanding it is for the betterment of the program before themselves.

“I am very excited for Payton to receive this award and forever be honored by Brookings Friends of Baseball,” said Carter Roach, senior legion head coach. “He exemplified everything you want in a teammate and a leader within your program. He was someone that we could count on when we needed him in the lineup, but more importantly he was there for his teammates. Payton was one of the first players to the field and one of the last players to leave the field. He had that type of work ethic and that was something every coach loves to see. He certainly had an important role and a significant impact on the success of our team this season.”

Theodosopoulos played the 2021 and 2022 seasons with the senior legion team. He primarily played in the outfield where he saw time in both right and left field for one of the state’s best outfields. He posted a .968 fielding percentage this past season and appeared in 13.1 innings on the mound, helping the Bandits to a 30-13-1 overall record and the No. 1 overall seed in the South Dakota Class A playoffs. The Bandits reached the state tournament for the first time since 2017.  

Other nominees for the Bob Shelden Award for Excellence included Addison Ronning from the Post 74 junior legion team and Wes Van-Ede from the 13U Bombers Maroon.

Front Row (l to r): Coy Friedrich (Embrace Family Dentistry), Nash Billings (Brookings Radio, Juniors), Ayden McKane (Cubby’s Sports Bar and Grill), Liam Diercks (Brookings Dumpster), Cody Olson (The Jackrabbits, Juniors), Louis Yoshida (Bank Star Financial), Desmond Eberhart (Man Cave).

Back Row (l to r): Senior Legion Head Coach Carter Roach, Shinji Numata (Rounds Construction), Jaxon Steen (Homes by Pitts), Trevor Lesher (Porter’s Bait Farm), Eli Ellsworth (Culligan Water), Jacob Romsa (Kiwanis Club), Landon Mosley (The Jackrabbits, Majors), Miles Hahn (Brook Dak Properties).

(l to r): Harrison Bunkers (Prussman Construction), Lincoln Helmbolt (Brookings Radio, Majors), Hayden Smidt (Great Shots, Majors), Brenden Kuehl (Great Shots, Juniors)