By Jon Chown
Twelve players from the Soquel High varsity baseball team were recognized in the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League’s All-League Selections, with Jake Escalante named Player of the Year and Luke Shoemaker named Pitcher of the Year. Soquel High Coach TJ Moran was named Coach of the Year.
The 2026 season was a huge success for the Knights. Soquel High finished with a 23–6 record and made an impressive run through the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, highlighted by a 1–0 semifinal victory over top-seeded Saint Francis. Unfortunately, their championship hopes were ended by Valley Christian High School in the CCS Division I title game, but Soquel still earned a berth in the CIF Northern California Regional playoffs where they narrowly lost 9–8 loss to Elk Grove High School in the first round.
“We set out this season to play the toughest schedule that I could possibly get for us. Our goal was to win the league and to make a run in the Division I CCS tournament,” said Coach Moran. “I had some personal goals of playing at Excite Ballpark and qualifying for the CIF Norcal Regional tournament. Safe to say that although it’s disappointing in the moment to not win everything, we were able to meet all of our expectations.”
Escalate, who pitched and played centerfield, hit .396 with 4 HR and 36 RBI in 28 games played this season, according to Max Preps. Shoemaker won 6 games this season with a 1.31 ERA and 73 strikeouts over 48 innings. In addition to the top two honors, Connor Corlett (pitcher), Dylan Hull (pitcher), Hudson Summerrill (infielder), Brady Downs (outfielder) and Cash Moran (catcher) were all named to the First Team. Sam Whelan (outfielder) was named to the Second Team and Anthony Skinner and Scotty Miller earned an Honorable Mention.
“We were blessed with excellent team leaders in Jake Escalante, Hudson Summerill and Cash Moran. Kids that are really close and have been playing together at a high level for a long time,” Moran said.
Moran credited the rival coaches in the league for recognizing how hard his team worked and the high level of competition the boys faced.
“I thought the coaches did a great job this year in identifying the best players in the league. Our team went 13-2 in league and had a very difficult non-league schedule, which I think the coaches took into consideration when trying to identify the All League guys,” he said.
Eleven seniors from the team will graduate, including Escalante, and First Team Players Moran, Summerrill, Corlett, Trey Sousa, and Hull, as well as Second Teamer Whelan. Shoemaker will be back, along with Santee Skinner and Mille … “and a bunch of other guys that could have started for other teams in the league,” Moran said.