This story originally appeared in the March 8 edition of the weekly LINK Reader. To get these stories first, subscribe here.
Change has been a constant over the last nine months for the Conner High School baseball team, which has experienced some seismic foundational shifts since the end of the 2023 season.
In June, longtime head coach Brad Arlinghaus stepped down after 17 seasons. Arlinghaus won a program-record 327 games, four 33rd District championships and a 9th Region title. He’s been the Northern Kentucky Baseball Coaches Association’s coach of the year five times.
Calling it a day as well was the coach’s father, Jim Arlinghaus, one of the last local high school baseball assistants who used traditional scorekeeping methods with score books and a pencil.
Also wrapping up their Conner baseball careers were 13 seniors. They graduated following last season’s 26-13 record that culminated with a 1-0 loss to Highlands in the 9th Region tournament semifinals. Among the departed: four of the team’s six .300 hitters, every player but one who hit a home run, the top five starting pitchers and three of the top relievers.
Those are a lot of pieces to pick up for a first-year head coach. The man charged with reassembling Conner’s veritable assembly line of great talent is former player and recent Cougars freshman coach Mike Hart. He promotion to head coach came in July.
“I’ve got one returning full-time starter and a couple players who have some starting experience,” the coach said. “I’ve got a bunch of guys who are eager to prove themselves.”
The returnee with the most experience is senior Rex Richter, who can play shortstop, outfield and pitch. He finished second on the team in hits last season and batted .325. He led the team with 21 walks and 12 stolen bases. Richter had a 1.75 ERA in six pitching appearances.
When Richter returned to the team Feb. 12, he knew there was a lot to get used to between the first day of practice and the first game March 11 at home against Holy Cross. Even the home dugout is different, thanks to a switch to the first-base side.
“We’re adjusting to the changes and ready to prove the doubters wrong,” Richter said. “I think we’re heading in the right direction.”
The new course is charted by Hart, a 1986 Conner graduate. He has coached locally for 24 years, the bulk of them directing the Kentucky Buccaneers Baseball Club. Among Hart’s recent accomplishments at Conner is coaching the Cougars’ 2023 9th Region freshman championship team.
“I’ve had the pleasure of coaching a lot of these players when they were freshmen,” Hart said. “Yeah, we lost a lot of seniors. But, to go along with that, I know we’ve got a lot of guys who are hungry to get after it.”
The coach has nine new seniors on the reconfigured roster.
“They are ready to make their own mark,” the coach said.
One of those inexperienced seniors is Gabe Huff, who had one plate appearance last season.
“We have a lot of different players and a different head coach, but we’ve all played for him,” Huff said of Hart. “We’re real confident in him and ourselves.”
Once the new coach was in place, he began filling out his staff. What he envisioned was a group that was an extension of himself with a lot of heart, plenty of experience and an endless supply of Cougar pride.
To that end, Hart added some Harts.
“Two of my sons, Drew Hart and Blake Hart, are on staff. Both played baseball at Conner,” Mike Hart said. “They were with me on the freshman team. They know what we’re trying to do. We’re going to rely on our defense and our offense. Losing our pitching staff is tough, but we’re going to live around the plate and put it in play and let the defense take care of it.”
Drew Hart is a hitting coach and handles infielders and outfielders. Blake Hart is also a hitting coach. He handles catchers. The pitching coaches are former Northern Kentucky University pitcher Chad Frommeyer and former Cougar Zach Volz. The team’s Driveline consultant is former Cougar Cameron Ross.
Some of those grown-up former freshmen include pitcher-outfielder Aaron Wichmann, middle infielder Owen Louden, and corner infielders Bryce Bowman and Dylan Hart, the head coach’s nephew. Others who can pitch are Dylan Hart and Tristian Winterman. They’re all seniors itching for a chance to perform. Junior JJ Bagby is another corner infielder who can pitch.
“The culture we built here is very good,” Huff said. “A lot of us don’t have a lot of experience, but we’re still Conner boys. We still love each other. We still want to win the district and the region and go to the state tournament.”
