With official practices starting on February 23rd, there are still many questions that need to be answered about the Finneytown Wildcats baseball team. Who will follow Cameron Bartsch in the rotation? Who will grab a hold of the third outfield spot? Will the younger players be able to hold their own at the varsity level? Does the team have enough depth to compete in the CHL? However, the one question that no one has ever had any doubt about was the stability behind the plate. Senior catcher Sam Brumett has been a three year starter and is coming off a solid 2014 campaign where he hit .299 and was named Honorable Mention All-CHL.

    Playing baseball since he was 6 years old, Brumett first started catching when a youth coach asked him to do so for a game. From that moment, he fell in love with the position and has worn the "tools of ignorance" with pride. When asked about his favorite part of being a catcher, he responded with a simple "Throwing guys out." Unsurprisingly, his least favorite part is when baserunners steal successfully.

    Over the course of the optional workouts, Brumett showed tremendous leadership qualities that have helped the younger players in the program feel at ease. Knowing that he will be moving on to college after the season, the senior has paved the way for the younger catchers in the program to take over his job in 2016. However, having been through high school baseball for three seasons already, Brumett understands the difficulty of playing at the varsity level. His advice to all of the underclassmen was to simply "believe in themselves."

    As he enters his senior season, Brumett has expressed his desire to win a conference championship and make a strong tournament run. With the Wildcats having to rely on plenty of younger players, the catcher also said he is looking forward to watching them play to the best of their capabilities. When he looks back on his career at Finneytown, Brumett has become very appreciative of the relationships that he's developed with his teammates. "I know I'll miss the team and the players because we've become very close over the years." 

    After the 2015 season, Brumett will play at OSU-Lima and plans to study criminology. When he visited the campus, he stated that he enjoyed the family environment that gave him a good feeling about college. With his final season approaching, the Wildcats are hoping he can leave Finneytown with a good feeling about high school.