There’s a reason Malad has played in back-to-back state championship games.

The Dragons put four players on the 3A all-state team, including three on the first team alone this past season.

Senior Carter Carey (C), a St. Cloud CC commit, hit .439 with 35 RBIs. Senior Kurt Ward (P/DH) went 4-1 with a 2.07 ERA and hit .365 with 26 RBIs. Junior Easton Green (LF/P) hit .409 with 40 stolen bases in 42 attempts. And junior Dawsyn Peterson (SS/P) was a second-team selection. It all helped Malad to a runner-up finish at state.

In 6A, Highland placed two players on the second team in seniors Cooper Colonel (2B/3B) and Cannon Eddie (C/P).

Moving down to 5A, Preston’s Conner Thomson made first team at shortstop/pitcher. The senior led all divisions in slugging percentage (1.068) while topping 5A in batting average (.554) and on-base percentage (.649), going 6-2 with a 2.08 ERA on the mound.

Rounding it out in 4A, Marsh Valley’s Tate Whitworth earned first-team honors at shortstop/pitcher. The senior paced all divisions in hits (66) with 4A’s best on-base percentage (.688) and OPS (1.534), while going 8-1 with a 1.00 ERA and 82 strikeouts.

The all-state teams are voted on by the state’s coaches via a voting system hosted by the Idaho Statesman.