Senior Bradley Miller, left, returns behind the plate for Humphreys. (Erick Chedd Ricardo/Special to Stripes)
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea – Osan’s softball team began last season with thin numbers and finished with too few to play in the Far East Division II tournament.
Cougars baseball faced something far worse in spring 2025 – they didn’t have enough players to form a team.
Now, coaches Tyler Greve and Dexter Thomas are hoping their respective softball and baseball teams can start anew.
Winning games consistently might take some time – each ballclub is thin in numbers and players with experience.
But both Greve and Thomas say they’re hopeful. As is the case with any teams in rebuilding phase, the only direction they can go is up.
“They’re good kids. They work hard. We’ll take them,” Greve said of a team with just 11 players at the moment, led by senior shortstop Belldandy Lamb.
If nothing else, Cougars baseball team’s new coach is well schooled in the game, having played at Florida State and Georgia State and also professionally in Germany.
“Our goal is to get better every day,” said Thomas, who has one player with any level of experience.
While the Cougars teams can practice on Osan, the base’s fields are not certified for games, so Osan must play all its games, home and road, at nearby Humphreys.
New baseball and softball fields are being built near the high school, but they won’t be ready until next season, the school’s athletics director Bridget Heffele said.
Korea’s soccer season began Friday with the Cougars boys and girls teams playing at Taejon Christian. Baseball and softball seasons open Wednesday with Osan at Humphreys.
Kaiden You's bat will be valued by Humphreys' baseball team. (Eleah Vincelette/Special to Stripes)
David Green and Osan baseball are back after a year absence due to lack of players. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
David Greene, a senior, is the lone Cougars player with experience, having played two years ago when Osan last fielded a team. He’s joined by a core of baseball newcomers, senior Noe Vasquez, sophomore outfielder Anthoney Canizales and freshman infielder Brigham Mitchell.
The Cougars need to settle on a catcher, Thomas said, and need to get up to game speed and fundamentals, since so few have been on a field. “We have our work cut out for us,” Thomas said.
Humphreys lost several players to transfers and graduation, but the PCS Plane sent a package of twins to Blackhawk Country – seniors Jonathan and Timothy Yrigoyen, late of Barstow, Calif.
The former will catch and the latter will likely be Humphreys’ ace pitcher, said new coach Jeremy Pittman.
“He can throw; it sounds like a gunshot when his pitches hit the catcher’s mitt,” Pittman said of Timothy Yrigoyen.
Returning senior catcher Bradley Miller “is going to be a big part of the team; his experience is invaluable,” Pittman said. Kaiden You also returns in the outfield and on the mound.
Humphreys only has 14 on its roster. “Some people may have to step up, but I’m very excited,” Pittman said.
For the third straight season, Daegu will not field a team, due to lack of players, school officials said.
Will Alycia Porter pitch or play shortstop for Daegu? Equally skilled at both. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Senior Belldandy Lamb and Osan are seeking a stronger finish to this softball season. (Dave Ornauer/Stars and Stripes)
Lamb is the consummate leader the Cougars need, Greve said. Blake Troutman, a sophomore, will work alongside Lamb in the middle infield. The players communicate well with each other on the field, Greve said.
“They take coaching really well,” he said. “They don’t take feedback personally.”
Humphreys’ group of returners is small but solid, coach Ashley Gooch said of an upperclassmen-heavy roster.
Senior Amaris Rosales is back on the mound and at shortstop. Jocelyn Sanchez Falkenberg, a junior, will also pitch. Junior Deja Wilson will catch, while athletic junior Saniyah Sherman will play where needed.
“We have a solid group of returners, and the newcomers will bring good things to the field,” Gooch said.
For Daegu and coach Oliver Herazo, the issue might be where will junior Alycia Porter play? As solid a glove and arm as she has at shortstop, Porter is also a strong option on the mound.
The Warriors are junior heavy, featuring Ginita Leon Guerrero in center field and Kay Thomas at first base. Piper Walker, a freshman, is behind the plate, but is not new to the game and is coachable, Herazo said.
“We have potential,” he said.
John Krabbe, left, is one of three seniors returning for Osan. (Ashley Angell/Special to Stripes)
Junior Reid Iverson is back in the defensive middle for Oan's boys. (Ashley Angell/Special to Stripes)
Osan went from no wins two seasons ago to seven a year ago and the Cougars are looking for more. Junior Reid Iverson and senior Aiden Machmer, chiefly responsible for the turnaround, return to anchor the middle for the Cougars.
“Our freshmen and new players have skills, they have potential,” senior Artleandro Clemons said. “They need to build up their confidence.”
Daegu’s roster is senior heavy with returning veterans Evan Son and Dylan Lentz in the middle and Max Lim and Ceasar Trujillo on defense. Alex Kenny, a junior, will also man the middle.
“We have some promise,” Daegu coach Robert Kenny said. “If we get it together, we’ll do pretty well.”
Senior Joel Kwak is just 5-foot-4, but is a “giant in the net” for Humphreys, boys coach Lino Campos-Cantu said. “He has saved our behinds many times,” he said. Playing in front of him are senior midfielder William Rah and junior defensive midfielder Jeremy Oledibe.
While strong in the middle and up front, “we are rebuilding our whole defense,” Campos-Cantu said, adding that he hopes the Blackhawks can place in the top four in Korea and top three in Far East Division I.
Junior Leilani Rice, right, is back for her third season on Daegu’s girls soccer team. (Jonessa Jones/Special to Stripes)
The PCS Plane was far from good to Osan’s girls, who lost 33 goals either to graduation or transfer. And the seasons continue to pile up between now and the last time the Cougars won their record eighth Far East D-II title, 13 years ago.
Still, the Cougars have some additions who aren’t new to the game, coach Sung Plourde said. “They have good experience,” he said of a squad with three seniors and 14 juniors. Sophomore Susanna Walsh is back along with juniors Molly Harman, Krystal Purvis and Yasmina Sabur.
“We had a good regular season last year, but this year, we’re hoping to do a little better,” Plourde said.
Don Park takes over a Daegu team that came on nicely during the late part of last season. Senior Denali Clites returns along with junior Leilani Rice; they have five years experience between them.
“We have a chance to improve,” said Clites, the third member of her family to play DODEA soccer. “It will take some time between practices and matches.”
Humphreys got hit by the transfer and graduation bug, which took away 28 goals from last season.
Seniors Hannah Corrales and Emily Mills return along with sophomore defensive anchor Lauren Haith. Christie Park, a senior volleyball player, will try her skills in the net. Freshman Sophea Ung has club experience in California and Okinawa.
