No matter the responsibility, Wyatt Van Der Hoeff will do it with his best foot forward.
He could be asked to do a bullpen then turn around and catch a game. Mark Mounts, the assistant coach for the Centralia High School baseball team, stated he could ask the catcher to jump rope for an hour and he would.
At the spry age of 14, Van Der Hoeff isn’t shying away from anything.
“Wyatt is at the front of the line,” Mounts stated. “Development doesn’t come easy and development isn’t free. He’s willing to do the things that aren’t free.”
Last month was an opportunity for Van Der Hoeff to play in the CABA Wood Bat World Series down in Lubbock, Texas. He joined Mounts’ En Fuego team that played in five games over the course of the week.
“Was unlike any experience I’ve ever been to,” Van Der Hoeff said. “It was so much different than going to Oregon playing in some tournament.”
The initial opportunity when Van Der Hoeff had a winter workout at Centralia. Mounts approached him to see if he had the week of July 16-21 off in order to tag along.
As the week got closer, the Tigers’ freshman-to-be was free. And a little bit of luck was bestowed upon him.
When Truitt Madonna, a prep from Ballard High School, was selected in the 11th round of the 2025 MLB Draft, it opened up a need for a second catcher to make the trek.
Enter Van Der Hoeff.
“Lucky to go down and play for them,” he stated.
“All the 18 year old kids on the team saw him as an asset,” Mounts added. “They wanted him to catch a ton of their games. He has a knack for catching that a lot of kids don’t have.”
Van Der Hoeff was in the dugout for the 18U games and caught a couple of bullpens. He played in all five of his games and hit .380 for the week.
“For me personally, my objective wasn’t to be seen. That wasn’t a focus. Went down to have fun,” Van Der Hoeff said. “I played really well in my personal opinion. Thought I’d get down there, be lucky to get a hit or two. Played pretty well for my skillset.”
The Centralia community stepped up to the plate for the financial part in sending Van Der Hoeff to Texas. Three local businesses and five community members generated the funds necessary to expense the travel.
“I’m extremely grateful; not everyone gets the opportunity to go down there,” Van Der Hoeff said.
“A young man was putting in the hard work. The businesses here in Centralia want to see Centralia kids succeed,” Mounts added.
The Tigers only won two games in the spring season, but reached the Class 2A District 4 tournament as the fourth place Evergreen Conference team. Van Der Hoeff is already excited for his first season of prep ball.
“I got a lot of people my age coming in and we’re trying to go .500 this season,” he said.
