Baseball is a team game, it takes everybody doing their job to find success. More so, if you’re talking about the level of success Soquel High enjoyed this season. And, still, junior Jake Escalante’s star shined brighter than others.The Knights (25-2 overall, 14-1 league) won their first Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League title since 2015, qualified for the Central Coast Section Division I playoffs as the No. 7 seed — a stunner considering though they had more power points than any team in the CCS — and finished No. 11 in maxpreps.com’s section rankings after suffering a narrow, 3-2 loss to powerhouse Valley Christian in the first round of the postseason.

Escalante made his presence felt all over the field, in the batter’s box, on the base paths, on the mound, and in the field. He wasn’t hard to locate, either. His athleticism stood out.

“It wasn’t like he had these crazy, eye-popping stats at the plate,” said TJ Moran, the Knights’ head coach. “Everybody can just tell; it’s the eyeballs. You just see the kid play and know he’s better than everybody else. And then he backs it up. He’s gonna get the clutch hit, he’s gonna come in and shut down games, he’s gonna steal the base. He can come in and mow through the best part of their lineup. He’s got a very unique and dynamic ability that’s, obviously, the best in the league.”

Moran, admittedly, is biased. He has coached Escalante since he was 7 or 8. But other league coaches shared his belief, which is why they voted unanimously to name Escalante the 2025 Player of the Year.

Scotts Valley senior Kaleb Wing was unanimously chosen Pitcher of the Year, and Moran was named Coach of the Year by his peers.

“I take it as a team award,” Escalante said. “I mean, I couldn’t do it without my teammates. It’s nine guys on the field and plenty more on the bench, cheering for us. It’s just the offseason, all my teammates encourage me to do better. My coaches encourage me. I do so much in the summer. … I take a lot of pride in this sport, and I love this sport.”

Escalante finished with a .384 batting average (38 for 99) with 12 extra-base hits. The leadoff hitter scored a team-high 30 runs, had 23 RBI, and shared the team lead in stolen bases (17) with senior infielder Gabe Virgallito.

On defense, he sported a .985 fielding percentage after making just one error in 65 total chances.

On the mound, he posted a 3-0 record and 1.05 ERA. In 20 innings, he gave up 13 hits, nine walks, and three earned runs while striking out 18 batters.

“He’s just a very, very good baseball player, a very good competitor,” Moran said. “He makes the hard plays look effortless. He will never back down. He does amazing things all the time. … He has a big, bright future in this game, for sure.”

Wing helped the Falcons (12-16, 8-7) finish in third place in the SCCAL behind runner-up Santa Cruz (15-12, 12-3) and both teams advanced to the CCS playoffs with automatic berths.

Wing, who emerged as MLB Draft prospect after shining at the prestigious Area Code Games showcase last summer, was the talk of the county before the season began, thanks to his meteoric offseason rise on the mound.

For that reason, Wing’s first start of the season, a nonleague loss to host St. Francis, was Falcons coach Kevin Taylor’s favorite.

“We had such high expectations for him going in, and he delivered,” his coach said.

Wing (3-3) posted a 1.23 ERA over 45 2/3 innings on the season. He gave up 23 hits, 15 walks, and eight earned runs while striking out 79 batters.

“He really established himself as a workhorse, and a pitcher opponents looked ahead to facing — not in a good way,” Taylor said. “They dreaded those games where they were matched up against Kaleb.

“He’s competitive, throws hard and had great off-speed stuff. He’s the full package. And he has a great head on his shoulders, he’s a great human being, and a leader.”

Soquel nabbed six of the 11 spots on the all-SCCAL first team. Junior pitcher Dylan Hull and sophomore pitcher Luke Shoemaker, junior infielder Hudson Summerrill and Virgallito, junior outfielder Sam Whelan, and senior utility player/designated hitter Noah Piona earned those spots.

Santa Cruz had three players on the first team: senior catcher Fernando DeCosta, and junior outfielders Caleb Cmaylo and Cam Fusari.

Rounding out the first team were a pair of repeat honorees, Harbor senior infielder Cole McCombs and San Lorenzo Valley senior infielder Jaden Shabry.