Jordan Duncan didn’t get to play baseball his senior year at Herculaneum in 2020 because of COVID. As a junior, Duncan was an all-Jefferson County Activities Association first team infielder and pitcher (small-schools). After high school, Jordan played at Jefferson College and Pittsburg State University in Kansas.
He would have been a front-runner for 2020 JCAA player of the year – had there been a season.
Five years later, another Duncan has received that honor: Jordan’s brother, Tanner, who will be a senior this fall at Herky.
“It’s like a competition for me,” Tanner said. “I have one up on him now.”
With the ability to pitch a complete game, provide lockdown defense at shortstop and rank among the team leaders in hitting, Duncan is the epitome of a league MVP. He’s a versatile athlete who also plays football and basketball.
“He’s meant a lot to our program and he’s been our shortstop and one of our top pitchers as well,” said head coach Blane Boss, who’s also the head football coach. “He does everything for us. That was one of the main reasons he got that award.”
Duncan will play wide receiver and defensive back this fall. The Blackcats recently held a summer football camp featuring seven-on-seven drills.
“He’s a natural athlete, quick, has good hands,” Boss said. “And he does things you don’t have to teach.”
Duncan is playing summer baseball for Festus American Legion Post 253 and making his mark there as well. He was the winning pitcher, had a hit, scored a run and drove in one in a 13-3 non-Legion win over the Gateway Bruins June 28. Festus is 11-9 overall.
“We lost a couple of games that should have been easy wins,” Duncan said. “We’re figuring it out. I feel like (playing for 253) is a way to stay connected with the community.”
Duncan said he wants to follow his brother and play baseball in college. Herculaneum finished 10-13 overall and 2-1 in the conference.
“(The POY) means a lot,” Duncan said. “It’s a goal I’ve had for a while. I was most happy with my pitching performances and my role changing. I became more of a leader this year and got more action as a pitcher. Hopefully next year we’ll win conference and the award comes to me again.”
The other Herculaneum players picked for the first team were 2025 graduates Clayton Anderson in the outfield and Mason Gorza on the mound, as well as infielder Eli Strinni, who will be a sophomore this fall. Strinni played second base and shortstop. Gorza broke his thumb in March and wore a cast for six weeks before he could pitch. Anderson was a two-year starter. The trio all hit between .357 and .380.
“(Strinni’s) had one of the best gloves I’ve seen since I’ve been coaching,” Boss said. “Up the middle with Tanner, that’s a solid duo and they’re best buddies too. (Strinni) was a solid piece in the batting order. He’s got quite a bit of tools for being a freshman.
“Clayton Anderson’s glove this year was pretty darn good. He saved multiple runs in center field and at the plate he was really scrappy, finding ways to get on. He was always a threat to run.
“The doctors said as long as Mason has a cast on, he can do baseball stuff. He resumed hitting and played second base. He didn’t pitch for four to six weeks.”
Jefferson (11-11-1, 3-0) won the JCAA small-schools title and Blue Jay head coach Robert Kuehnle was named the coach of the year for the fourth time. St. Vincent (7-14, 1-2) and Crystal City (4-13, 0-3) played in the small-schools division this year while Grandview did not field a varsity team.
Kuehnle guided the Blue Jays to third in the state in Class 3 in 2021. This year as a young team searched for chemistry, they struggled at 2-7-1 before climbing back to .500. Then in a span of a week, Jefferson won three conference games and the title.
Blue Jays awarded first-team honors were infielder Sam Cook, outfielder Landon Weiss and utility player Landon Taylor.
Cook, a freshman, played second base, catcher and right field. He hit .340 and drove in 13 runs.
“(He’s) an absolute genuine talent and I can’t wait to see what he does the next three years,” Kuehnle said. “He wasn’t fazed by the competition. Usually, when you have a 15-year-old against an 18- year-old, there’s a gap, but he didn’t mind it and came into his own.
“For the most part we have a lot of guys who can play a lot of positions. We learned a lot from Colby Ott in 2021. If a guy can play multiple positions, it’s better for him at the next level.”
Weiss patrolled center field and
Kuehnle said he can cover more ground than most he’s coached. Weiss hit .333, drove in 10 runs and stole seven bags.
“If a ball went up in the air, it’s caught. We’d say on the bench, ‘We’ve got Landon there, it’s caught.’ Offensively, he did what we needed him to do.”
A sophomore, Taylor played third base and pitched, working 32 1/3 innings with a 3-3 record and an earned run average of 3.03.
“(Taylor) came into his own this year,” the coach said. “His coming-out party was against North Point Wentzville when he pitched and absolutely dominated their offense. It was impressive watching him grow. He gave us a chance to win every time he pitched.”
Kuehnle said he was humbled to win COY as voted by his small-schools peers.
“Players give you this honor and there are so many great coaches in the JCAA,” he said. “I thank my players for getting me that honor and thankful to the coaches who voted for me. It’s prestigious.”
Duncan’s teammate on Post 253, Nolan Eisenbeis, graduated from Crystal City this spring and will play next at Jefferson College. Eisenbeis relieved Duncan in the win over the Bruins. An all conference first-teamer in basketball, Eisenbeis was named to the first team all-JCAA in baseball as well, at catcher.
“Nolan had an outstanding season for us and was a leader on and off the field,” Crystal City head coach Brantley Lohkamp said. “The success that we had was largely due to his leadership and ability on the field. He was a threat every time he was up to bat, and did an outstanding job on the bases. Defensively, he managed our pitchers really well and helped limit the other team’s ability to steal bases and get extra bases.
“Nolan exemplified what it means to be a Crystal City Hornet and baseball player.”
St. Vincent’s first-team players were 2025 graduates Nick Buchheit (infield) and pitcher Jacob Seabaugh and junior outfielder Tyler Hennemann.
JCAA small-schools baseball
First team
Infielders: Tanner Duncan, Herculaneum; Sam Cook, Jefferson; Eli Strinni, Herculaneum; Nick Buchheit, St. Vincent
Catcher: Nolan Eisenbeis, Crystal City
Outfielders: Landon Weiss, Jefferson; Clayton Anderson, Herculaneum; Tyler Hennemann, St. Vincent
Pitchers: Jacob Seabaugh, St. Vincent; Mason Gorza, Herculaneum
Utility: Landon Taylor, Jefferson
Second team
Infielders: Nolan Naucke, Jefferson; Jackson LaPlante, Herculaneum; Gavin Hotop, St. Vincent; Wyatt McDaniel, Jefferson
Catcher: Wyatt McDaniel, Jefferson
Outfielders: Carter ljames, Herculaneum; Bo Davis, Jefferson; Gus Unterreiner, St. Vincent
Pitchers: Jack Klump, Jefferson; Evan Wolfe, Crystal City
Utility: Mason Gorza, Herculaneum
Honorable mention
Infielders: Brock Poole, Grandview
Catcher: Jacob Seabaugh, St. Vincent
Outfielders: Parker Taylor, Jefferson
Pitchers: Kaiden Thomas, Crystal City; Tanner Duncan, Herculaneum
Utility: Cain Clifton, St. Vincent
Player of the Year: Tanner Duncan, Herculaneum
Coach of the Year: Robert Kuehnle, Jefferson