FRESNO, TULARE COUNTY – The 2025 baseball season has come and gone, but the awards and accolades continue to pour in. And in this case, loud applause is due for some players in the Central Section who earned some all-state recognitions.
When Cal-Hi Sports published its list of players who made the cut on their 43rd Annual All-State Teams earlier this week, a few notable players from Central Valley showed up to earn spots on the small and medium schools teams with some other great talent throughout the state of California.
Redwood’s Erik Rico blazed through another dominant season on the mound to deservedly earn a spot among the Medium Schools First Team pitchers. The 5-foot 11-inch senior right hander helped lead the Rangers (21-8/14-1) to a third consecutive East Yosemite League (EYL) title and return trip to the Central Section Baseball Championships.
One of the top pitchers in the Section the last two seasons, Rico has committed to Fresno State to continue his career.
Kingsburg’s Jensen Hirschkorn cast an imposing 6-foot 7-inch frame when delivering fastballs off the pitchers’ mound and swinging the lumber in the batters box. Dominating as both a hitter and pitcher, Hirschkorn found his way on to the Medium School’s 2nd Team All-Purpose squad.
On the bump, Hirschkorn finished 5-1 with a 1.66 earned run average (ERA). Featuring a blazing fastball, Hirschkorn induced 65 strikeouts in just 33.1 innings pitched. As a hitter, he led the Vikings and ranked 9th overall in the state with 6 home runs. He batted an astounding .443 and ranked 12th in the state with 31 runs batted in (RBI).
The Fowler Redcats had one nasty bite in their play this past season. Fowler ripped through a 29-4 season, including an outright Northwest Sequoia League (NWSL) title with a perfect 13-0 record. The Redcats advanced all the way to the CIF NorCal D III Championships, eventually falling to Roseville, 8-2.
A lot of the Redcats success was due to senior standouts Jerod “Bubba” Smith and catcher Jason Lopez. While Fowler received tremendous efforts from the whole team, Smith and Lopez’s play stood out among a talented crowd of Redcats.
Smith proved to be a dangerous two-way player, like Hirschkorn, as a pitcher and a hitter. Smith ranked 11th in the state with 11 victories and also tallied 99 K’s on the bump. Offensively, he smacked the leather off the ball, as his .458 batting average proves.
Smith’s senior teammate, Lopez, proved to be a reliable rock for the Redcats this season. Lopez was just as menacing an offensive threat, batting .418 while driving in 35 runs. And behind the plate, Lopez was a defensive wizard, ranking in the top 100 in the state with a .996 fielding percentage.
The full list of the 43rd Annual All-State teams can be found on the Cal-Hi Sports website.
