There's a Brandon Valley-to-USF pipeline brewing in baseball
The University of Sioux Falls baseball team began its 2019 season in February in Denver. The early part of their season took them on the road for 16 straight games in Colorado, Florida and Illinois before playing their first home game, a March 21 doubleheader against Northern State.
No doubt it was good to get home for the Cougars, who went 2-14 on that opening road swing. Things have turned around a bit for USF, which has won seven NSIC games since its return.
Getting home was not only good for the Cougars on the field, it was also a chance for some local athletes to get closer to their roots. Four players on USF’s 40-player roster are from Brandon and played for the Lynx high school and Legion teams.
Sophomores Ryan Meyer, Payton Livingston and Mitchell Hoover and freshman Trey Hubers are all Brandon graduates now competing for the Cougars.
Part of the reason for that pipeline is USF coach Grant Hieb. Hieb coached Brandon Valley before accepting the job with the Cougars in 2016. He’s coached several players from Brandon that went on to play collegiately, and he keeps an eye on the Brandon Valley program each year.
“It’s been awesome to see the program continue to build in Brandon,” Hieb said. “I’ve known about these kids for a long time and I coached a lot of them that are with me now when they were in high school. There have definitely been some good ballplayers coming through Brandon.”
When Hieb left Brandon Valley for USF, his assistant, Jeremy VanHeel, took over and has held the head coaching position ever since. VanHeel led the Lynx to the state high school championship last year and has the Lynx cruising again in 2019.
That relationship between Hieb and VanHeel is an obvious connection between Brandon Valley and USF, and Hieb says it made the decision to move to the Cougars easier knowing VanHeel was in place.
“He’s in it for the kids and doing it all for the right reasons,” Hieb said. “He’s been doing a great job.”
VanHeel says he enjoys prepping players for college baseball and looks forward to working with Hieb and USF.
“Grant understands what we do here. He knows my expectations and I understand his,” VanHeel said. “He knows what he’s going to get when he sees a kid from Brandon is interested in playing at USF. He knows he’s going to get a kid who’s ready to work and understands the fundamentals and wants to play the game the right way.”
Hieb also plays amateur baseball for the Renner Monarchs. One of his teammates with the Monarchs is Augustana coach Tim Huber. At a game last season, an umpire approached Hieb and congratulated him on winning a championship. Hieb said he thought the umpire mistook him for Huber regarding the NCAA Division II national championship the Vikings had just won.
“When I told him he had the wrong guy, he said, ‘No, I mean about your Brandon boys winning the state title. I know how much work you put into that program,’” Hieb said. “I definitely have a sense of pride with that team and I keep an eye on them all summer.”
Although the Cougars are a work in progress sitting at 9-27 this season, Hieb is confident that Meyer, Livingston, Hoover, and Hubers will make an impact at USF in the future.
“They’re all young, but I think all of those guys are going to help us over the next few years,” Hieb said.