St. Thomas Academy at Mahtomedi
4:15 p.m., Friday, April 15

St. Thomas Academy has a good chance to make its first state tournament appearance since 1983 due to three-time section champion Lakeville North and several other schools moving on from Class 3A, Section 3 into the newly formed Class 4A this season.

The No. 11-3A Cadets have a 13-man senior class and nine players who were part St. Thomas Academy’s football team, which was the Class 5A runner-up this past fall. 

St. Johns University commit Tom Kolar is the only college-bound player on the roster and will anchor the Cadets' outfield.

Ten seniors departed from Mahtomedi’s program after helping lead the team to a second consecutive state tournament appearance last year, including 6-foot-11 Sean Hjelle, who is pitching at Kentucky after being the Zephyrs’ ace for two years.

Four other former Mahtomedi players are also at collegiate programs, but the No. 3-3A Zephyrs should recover well with another deep senior class that has four college-bound players. The pitching staff will be the primary concern this season as it returns only senior Mitch Nordin, who was 3-1 last year.

Mahtomedi swept St. Thomas Academy in Metro East Conference play last season. The first game was a tight 12-11 victory while the second was a 5-1 defensive smothering at the hands of Nordin.