Senior Brooks Becker and junior Caleb Arrasmith are wrapping up practice at Beechwood High School’s indoor athletic facility. The last of the errant baseballs are in the buckets. Bats are put away, and the Beechwood standouts talk about how the Tigers are going to put away the rest of the Ninth Region this season.
“It’s a pleasure being No. 1 but we don’t worry about rankings,” Becker says. “We go into every game 100% because we have big goals.”
They also have big-time players.
“I’m confident on both sides of the ball,” Arrasmith adds. “I really like what we have.”
So does everybody else. Beechwood boasts three of the top five players on the Kentucky High School Baseball Coaches Association’s Ninth Region preseason watch list. They are the only team with three on the 10-player list.
Along with Becker and Arrasmith is the headliner: center fielder Tyler Fryman, the team’s quiet leader. He’s also the state coaches’ Region 9 preseason player of the year after batting a team-best .436 and leading virtually every hitting category as a sophomore including doubles (19), home runs (4) and stolen bases (34).
“Tyler Fryman is always at Beechwood working on something. His focus and determination are off the charts,” coach Kevin Gray says. “Brooks Becker is another leader who made the move to shortstop from third and has looked really good. Caleb Arrasmith had a tremendous sophomore season and we are looking for even better things.”
Becker hit .294 last season and struck out just eight times in 80 plate appearances. Arrasmith hit .308. On the mound, he was 6-0 in 10 appearances, eight of them starts, with a 1.15 ERA. Arrasmith struck out 61 batters in 36.2 innings pitched.
Also back are four more talented seniors: first baseman Hudson Edwards, third baseman Sawyer Carlisle, left fielder Bobby Meier and pitcher Brant Stiles. Edwards flirted with a .300 batting average as a sophomore. Carlisle hit .312 last year. Stiles returns after a workhorse season with 17 appearances. He had seven starts, a 2-4 record with a pair of saves and a 2.48 ERA. The Tigers finished 25-11-1.
“Brant is a hard-throwing right-hander with some good stuff. Caleb is a lefty who has picked up right where he left off,” says Gray. “Kingston Conover and Kayden Sautter are two sophomores who we are extremely high on.”
There is leadership and returning experience everywhere to help them out, including 10 seniors, five returning starters in the field and three on the mound. Five are heading to college programs: Becker and Arrasmith (Morehead State), Carlisle (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Edwards (Transylvania) and Stiles (Thomas More).
No wonder Beechwood is the Northern Kentucky Baseball Coaches Association’s top-ranked squad over a host of other quality teams including defending region champ Highlands and perennial stalwart Covington Catholic.
“This is a great group of players and a great group of guys,” says Gray, a former Kentucky high school baseball coach of the year. “But this isn’t going to be easy.”
Getting a feel for the field
Senior-laden Highlands is the area’s preseason No. 3 after losing virtually all of its established starting pitching. The Bluebirds have won the region five times in the last 10 seasons, but just once since 2018. CovCath, under new management for the first time in nearly 50 years, is No. 4. The Colonels are seeking their first region crown in 20 seasons.
Beechwood has won the region every season except the last two since 2018. That was Gray’s first year as head coach. The Tigers lost to Highlands 5-2 in last year’s championship game. They are always a tough out. This year, their threat level is especially high.
“I’d say one of our strengths is our winning,” Becker declares. “That’s because we’re a team. I’m not playing for the name on the back of my jersey. I’m playing for the name on the front, Beechwood.”
Right on, says Gray: “They get it. These guys know what’s happening.”
Arrasmith knows. He surveys the local playing landscape and advises skeptics to walk this way: “Our culture is amazing. That’s our secret sauce. Our coach is hard-nosed and old-school, and he corrects mistakes and gets us back on track. I feel like we can do some damage at the plate this year and on the bump.”
The Tigers and their aggressive brand of small ball, augmented by Fryman’s thump, must outdo several other capable teams. Highlands lost its top four starting pitchers all of whom had ERAs below 1.60. But the Bluebirds wind up with even more seniors this season and head coach Brian Benzinger knows what to do with that. Covington Catholic begins a new era as John Michels replaces the legendary Bill Krumpelbeck as head coach. The Colonels boast 10 seniors and eight juniors.
Other ballclubs showing up in the state coaches’ preseason regional top 10 are perennially tough Ryle at No. 6. The Raiders are the only team other than Beechwood and Highlands to win the region since 2014. They won it in 2024, breaking Beechwood’s five-year stranglehold. Not to be underestimated are No. 7 Dixie Heights, No. 8 Conner and Cooper at No. 10.
Gray, in his ninth year at the helm, comes away feeling like the Tigers are going to have their hands full. “I say Highlands is the team to beat because they’re defending champs,” counters the coach. “The region has quite a few really good teams.”
And what about the 35th District, where Beechwood is the two-time defending champ: “CovCath will be a top team in the district and region just like they are every year,” Gray says. “Holy Cross and Holmes will be young but dangerous. In all honesty, I’m going to miss seeing coach Krumpelbeck this year, but I know coach Michels will have his team ready for postseason play.”
The Tigers are ready now. They open the schedule Wednesday, March 18 with a 5 p.m. tilt at home against Campbell County.
“I’m ready to go,” Arrasmith proclaims. “We’re all ready to go.”
The Beechwood way
The Tigers have been a success on the diamond for a variety of reasons and much of that stems from the head coach. Gray, as amiable as any, comes off the same way to his players: earnest, honest, authentic and approachable. He has a stable of assistants with similar mind-sets.
“I think it’s a testament to our administration, teachers, other sports coaches and of course our baseball staff,” says Gray. “Kids want to come to Beechwood for an amazing education but also to be part of something special. We all want our guys to be multi-sport athletes and at other schools that is not the case.”
Adding to the mix is the colorful Gray himself, the walking embodiment of team.
“Obviously, I get to do the podcasts, interviews and things like that, but I have surrounded myself with an amazing group of coaches who put their heart and soul into this,” says Gray. “They take a lot of time away from their families to coach our guys.”
Beechwood is a small-school powerhouse with a rare collectivism that fuels the Tigers to bigger things. They are an annual threat to win Kentucky All “A” Classic region and statewide tournaments, with many crowns to their credit. “For us to compete with the bigger schools, we have to do our best to outwork them,” Gray says. “That goes for coaches and players.”
It’s hard work. But Gray makes it look easy. He says the key is having fun. “I can see why coaches like Bill Krumpelbeck and Chris Maxwell stay a long time,” Gray says. “It’s really something special to be a part of. Once you get in, it’s hard to step away, especially if you’re still having success. Those two guys are incredible coaches. I’m just trying to win.”
In order to achieve the ultimate goal of winning a state championship, Gray knows his men need to hit while having different sets of eyeballs on the pitching.
“Our 2.76 ERA last year was incredible to say the least,” says the coach. “Our pitching coach was Austin Bryant, who had to step away. Coach Briley Seiter also helped out with pitchers some last year, but he wasn’t around as much as he wanted.”
If it takes a village, Beechwood’s got it. And the head coach doesn’t mind spreading the love. “Nate Snyder has been here with us from day one,” says Gray. “He’s an incredible pitching coach. We also have Morgan Weast helping out. He does a great job with our guys. He was with coach Keith Hightchew on the JV staff last year.”
There is a plan to boost the bats.
“I think .289 is decent but not close to where we want to be,” Gray says about last season’s team average which trailed Highlands’ .342. “Our hitting coaches for the most part are Kyle Shoopman and Jimmy Booth. They are both tremendous. Our guys are extremely lucky to have coaches who put in as much time as they do with scouting, on-field preparation, confidence building and team culture.”
The Tigers need all of that and more in the rough-and-tumble Ninth Region.
“This region is a tough place,” admits Gray. “I always say that if you play the regional tournament again a week later, a different team will win. I’m really fortunate that we’ve got good people and players. When you get in our program, you become family, and you better win.”