The Baseball team has recently been ranked the best small school in St. Louis by a popular high school sports company, Gateway Sports Venue (GSV), after a 13-2 start to the 2026 season. This strong accomplishment is propelling the Rams, led by Head Coach Michael Kraatz, down the regular season with momentum as a high-octane threat for a Missouri Class 5 state title.
“Coach Kraatz is putting us in this position to achieve state by making us compete hard in practice and surrounding us with an amazing coaching staff who are willing to contribute towards this goal as well, with full intent,” Captain LJ Triplett ‘26 said.
With the recent success of the baseball program, outsiders are beginning to take notice of the rapid development.
“In my junior year, what happened was our baseball team slowly started to climb in the rankings, and, you know, that was something everyone took notice of,” Boys Lacrosse Captain Steele Crissman ‘26 said.
“I think Coach Kraatz has done a great job over the years spreading MICDS’s name throughout the baseball community,” said Assistant Varsity Baseball Coach Blake Whitney said.
Kraatz’s ability to create noise and respect around the program is allowing students and people around the St. Louis community to see the changing narrative about baseball here.
A few underclassmen on the varsity baseball team believe the staff has a tremendous impact.
“I feel like [Coach Kraatz] put us in a position to win state,” Sam Deibel ‘28 said. “He’s helping us with the physical and mental parts of the game.”
“Coach Kraatz has put us through a whole bunch of intense workouts and has got us a good coaching staff,” Eliyah Powell ‘28 said. “So I think by the time playoffs start, we’ll be in real good shape as we have a whole bunch of key parts, and we’ll be prepared for anything that comes our way,”
“I think what makes Coach Kraatz such a great leader and facilitator of our program is his ability to create an energy and a vibe that’s really player-run,” Captain Dunnen McGaughey ‘26 said. “I think he gives a lot of trust into his captains and his leaders while instilling really good values in us and makes really personal connections to make sure the expectations for success are really high, and we’re able to get into practice, have a strict kind of flow and get in and get what we need out of it. We don’t overdo it.”
McGaughey added that Kraatz “is really cautious about how much mental effort we’re putting in and understands what we have to do at school and creates a really good balance for that. Also promoting battling adversity and creating an environment of success while leaning into his guys and not being a drill sergeant. It’s a very good system, and he is a terrific leader and has brought a lot of success for our program.”
While the number one ranking spot is an accomplishment that takes a lot of hard work, everybody in the baseball program knows that there is a lot of season left.
“We need to keep stacking the momentum by building up more and more good practices and good wins against whoever appears on their schedule next,” Powell said.
Kraatz’s Rams over the last 3 years have created a successful program, going a combined 51-19 in games played. The recent success has not only been by winning, but winning when it matters, with state appearances in the last 2 years, finishing 5th in 2025, and 4th in 2024. Not only that, but with the recent series sweep of cross-town rival John Burroughs, which hasn’t been done since 2011, it is clear the program believes this team is special. The Rams hope to reach the top of the ladder and raise the trophy this year, seeking what would be the second state championship in program history.
