Cedar Creek expects to compete in 2025 riding arm of ace Kade Luker

Cedar Creek sophomore Kade Luker is expected to lead the Cougars’ pitching staff this spring. Photo by Darrell James
Age is only a number for the Cedar Creek baseball team this spring.
With impactful seniors from last year out the door, the Cougars open the 2025 season with a core of underclassmen with high ceilings, along with upperclassmen looking to make on-field impact after waiting in the wings, as the foundation for what’s expected to be a District 1-1A contender this year.
After winning the program’s first playoff game in five years last spring and finishing with a 16-19 record, Cedar Creek has the potential to be back in the postseason mix this season — that as, if all the pieces play up to their potential.
“I feel good about what we have,” Cedar Creek head coach Chad Yates said. “We had six seniors last year that gave us a lot of maturity and experience and they were all on the field for us. This year, my concern isn’t about replacing production, even though those guys did a great job for us. It’s about can we get new leadership in place because we only have four seniors and a lot of young guys that we’re going to ask a lot out of.”
To that point, Yates wants his team embracing their roles with confidence this spring. He wants the Cougars to lean back on playing clean defense, giving strong plate approaches, and delivering aggressive pitching to carry them through, even if most of their listed ages indicate they’ve got growing up to do. Not this year.
If Cedar Creek is going to put itself back in the postseason this spring, Yates said the Cougars must buy in to their work rather than a perceived wait-and-see approach.
“I think one thing we’re trying to do is not focus on the age of a kid,” Yates said. “If you’re eligible to play for us and you give us the best chance to win, you’ll be out there. We’re trying to eliminate the thought of, ‘Well, I’m and 8th grader, or I’m a freshman or a sophomore.’ We’ve been trying to impress upon them that we’re going to get after it, and we want to play sound baseball. We’re going to pitch it well, play good defense and compete at the plate.”
Pitching rotation
The strength of last year’s team was its pitching arsenal, led by Max Brister, Kade Luker, and Ladd Thompson.
A few new faces will take the mound this year, but Yates expects more of the same competitiveness from the staff this spring.
It starts with Luker, who had a standout freshman season in 2024 with a 2.50 ERA in 50 1/3 innings, striking out 75 batters along the way. The only freshman to make it as a 2-1A First Team All-District selection, Luker tossed two no-hitters last spring on his way to earning LSWA All-State honorable mention.
Yates said the sophomore is going to be trusted as the Cougars’ ace.
“On the bump, he’s ticked up his velocity. He’s mature way above his age,” Yates said. “For us, we’d love for him to take the baseball and not give it back until the game is over. He’s got the ability to dominate high school baseball. And we know teams are going to try to get him uncomfortable and try to get on base by bunting or putting pressure on a defense.”
But his pitching may not be the only weapon the Cougars rely on this spring, as Luker’s offensive production in the offseason became a welcomed surprise to Yates.
“ The biggest stride with him honestly has been his bat. He’s been pulverizing the baseball in the preseason,” Yates said. “He did at a showcase at Tech recently and it was consistent 90-plus, 100-plus exit velocity off the bat. He’s gonna be a threat at the plate. The key is can we get a guy or two behind and in front of him, so teams have to honor others and not just pitch around him.”
Outside of Luker, the pitching rotation includes Jax Doiron, a junior transferring from Evangel. A 6-foot-3 lefty, Doiron will be in the frontline mix with Luker.
“He’s someone that could really impact what we do on the mound this year,” Yates said of Doiron. “He’s one of those guys that is still developing but there’s no doubt he’s got stuff.”
JB Robinson, a senior, will have a big role in the rotation as well, along with Eli Slocum, a freshman, and Connor Yates, a junior. Ryan Coleman, Aiden Crosby, and Brett Bell could also throw selective innings when needed.
“When I look at the roster, I see a lot of guys that could easily give us one to two innings and we’ll see how it goes. There’s a good mix of arms,” Yates said. “I’d say right now our frontline guys will be Luker, Robinson, Doiron, Slocum, and Connor,” Yates said.
Infield makeup
When Luker isn’t pitching, Yates expects him to play first base, paired alongside Noah Smith, an 8th grader, at second base to fill out the right side of the infield.
At shortstop, Connor Yates will start, while Cason Floyd, a freshman, looks to take the job at third base. Bell, who served as the team’s primary catcher last year, is back behind the dish, but Smith could fill in for him if needed.
Coleman will play left field, Crosby will play right field, and Kaleb Negrotto, a senior, will be in center field.
“He’s got great speed and finds ways to get on base for us,” Yates said of Negrotto.
The Cougars will have big challenges on their schedule out of the gate, starting with the season opener against Parkway, a 5A school that went 22-8 last season.
Creek then has its home opener against Calvary Baptist, a program used to a deep postseason run that finished 23- 10 last spring, three days later. Winnfield, Benton, and North DeSoto are also among the early tests.
“We’ll be tested early mentally, and then by March hopefully we’re starting to put things together and make a run in April and May based on who we played early,” Yates said.
Cedar Creek opens the 2025 baseball season on Feb. 10 on the road at Parkway.