MT. ZION, Ill. (WAND) - The Mt. Zion Braves baseball team is off to a strong start to the 2026 season under new head coach Luke Highley.

Highley told WAND Sports that part of the reason for the quick start was, "This team is not very difficult to coach, to be honest with you."

Sophomore pitcher Creighton Weigler said, "We've just been hitting the crap out of the ball and shoving. It's really just going out there and doing your job, throwing strikes, and you'll either strike them out or we've got a good defense behind you."

The Braves are a really connected group this year, with many having played with each other since grade school.

"The juniors, we've been playing together since we were seven or eight, eight or nine, so just a lot of love between these guys," junior outfielder Evan Howley said. "Knowing the guy next to you has your back, especially in such a team sport. Not one person can get it done themselves. So, knowing the guy next to you has your back and is going to be there for you the whole season, it really means a lot."

Mt. Zion has already picked up multiple Apollo Conference wins in the early season. Highley said that's the first goal the team wants to cross off.

"As soon as I got here and talked to these guys, I told them the first thing we're going to accomplish is we're going to go and do everything we can to win conference games. That doesn't mean we're going to win them all, but pitching-wise and who's in the lineup, that's what we're going to do. We're going to try and win the Apollo Conference," Highley said. 

Copyright 2026. WAND TV. All rights reserved.