POSTSEASON PRIME: 10-8

10. Riley Jackson

Half Moon Bay - junior - shortstop

The Skinny: The last month has been a magical time in Half Moon Bay, where the Cougars reeled off 15 straight wins en route to their first CCS baseball crown in school history and a NorCal-Division IV championship. And at the center of it all was junior shortstop Riley Jackson, who closed the season as one of the hottest hitters on the Peninsula. "The last 15 games have been the most fun I've had playing the game of baseball," Jackson said. "It's because of all the hard work we put in. ... This wasn't an accident that we went on this streak. It's proof that giving all you've got in practice and in games will result in good things." For the first two seasons of Jackson's career, Half Moon Bay was a baseball also-ran, a team that hovered just below the .500 mark. And prior to getting hot late in the season, the Cougars were teetering in much the same way. The opposition didn't pitch very often to Jackson, the Santa Clara University commit who they chose to walk to take their chances with someone else. Once the CCS tourney began, that changed, he said. "Once we got into the postseason, teams didn't know me as well," he said. That led to me getting a lot more opportunities at the plate. Nothing changed, I still had the same game plan and approach. The numbers just went up because I had more chances to do my thing."

Season Highlight: A walk-off single at Oracle Park to beat Sequoia was special, but they don't compare with two celebratory dogpiles, he said. "The CCS and NorCal dogpiles are tied for my personal highlight," he said. "They're both so special, I can't put one over the other. They're special because the whole team was involved and we were celebrating something that had never been done in school history."

"Before the season, my goal was to play in the CCS tournament, so to win that was unbelievable and then to go on and win a NorCal title was just unreal. It was so special for me."

The Numbers Tell the Story: Jackson had a .790 slugging percentage, thanks to six doubles, three triples and five home runs. His OPS was 1.435.

Eye-Popping Stat: Jackson was walked an astounding 39 times this season. With 37 base hits, that equated to a .645 on-base percentage, the best mark on the Peninsula.

9. Nate Hui

Serra - senior - shortstop

The Skinny: After saving seven games in 2025, including the CCS-Division I championship win over Valley Christian, Nate Hui was limited to 2 2/3 innings as a senior. A balky hamstring suffered in Serra's second game of the year, along with a sore shoulder kept him from pitching much. Instead, he made his presence felt from the start by collecting six hits, including four doubles, while stealing five bases in the Pades' three-game sweep of the Battle for Atherton. "That was the perfect way for me to start the season," said the Pomona-Pitzer signee. "It gave me some confidence going into the season because I might have been unsure of how to lead a team. Playing like I did in that tournament gave me confidence and the respect of my teammates. It set the tone that, 'maybe we can trust this guy.'" Alas, a CCS-championship repeat wasn't in the cards. The Padres squandered a lot of scoring chances and struck out way too much, but they were playing with a young squad, with Hui and Jack Wessell being the only seniors in the batting order. "The game moved too fast for some of our younger players," Hui said. "We had our moments, but we just weren't consistent enough." Hui would have relished the opportunity to play his senior season without the nagging injuries. "I was tired," he said. "My shoulder was bugging me. My hamstring was bugging me. It was all pushed to the back of my mind."

Season Highlight: Taking home most valuable player honors from the Battle of Atherton was big, the perfect table-setter to the season. Winning the Blanket Award, given each year to Serra's top senior baseball player, was the exclamation point. And hitting a home run while driving in three runs in an 8-5 victory over rival St. Ignatius Prep on April 28 was what Hui called the personal highlight he liked best. "That was a great game for us," Hui said.

"There's no secret sauce to this game. You have to want it. If you don't want to be there, you won't make it. You have to love learning the game. You have to love the little details of baseball. You have to love learning."

The Numbers Tell the Story: Hui collected 29 hits and drew 14 walks. His on-base percentage was .446.

Eye-Popping Stat: After stealing four bases in the season-opening victory, Hui had just 10 steals the rest of the way because of the hamstring injury.

8. Kyle McMillan

Saint Francis - junior - pitcher/infield

The Skinny: The hard work that Kyle McMillan put in during the fall and winter months immediately began manifest itself in the spring, he said. "I initially knew that the work I was doing was paying off when my numbers started to drastically jump," he said. On the mound, he noticed increased velocity on his fastball. At the plate, his exit velocity was higher than it had ever been. "As I started to get into the season, I saw the hits start coming and I was getting people out on the mound." McMillan, the Santa Clara University commit, penned a season for the ages on the mound, at the plate and in the field on his non-pitching days, when he played mostly second base, but took a shift or two at shortstop. He was named the CCS Player of the Year, an award that had just as much to do with his versatility as it did his pitching dominance. "Being an infielder from a young aga has allowed me to move naturally and adjust to whatever position I had to play," he said. McMillan teamed with Brody Larocque to give Saint Francis the top pitching tandem on the Peninsula as the Lancers ran away with their first WCAL championship since 2018. "I had always been mainly an infielder and pitched on occasion, but I knew I had good arm strength and the ability to throw strikes," he said. "So when (coach Erik) Wagle told me I was going to be a starting pitcher, I didn't worry."

Season Highlight: On May 8, McMillan hit a home run and threw a complete game in a 4-1 victory at Bellarmine that clinched the Lancers a league crown. "Winning the WCAL meant a ton to our team and getting to share that moment with them was a lot of fun," he said. "Hitting that home run was pretty sick, too."

"I throw every pitch with the exact same intent and all I do is change my grip. Throwing the off-speed as hard as possible allows it to move more, which throws off hitters."

The Numbers Tell the Story: McMillan struck out 80 batters in 75 innings, while walking 21 hitters. He threw 1,021 pitches.

Eye-Popping Stat: He allowed only nine runs on his watch, eight of which were earned.