2023 PBR Minnesota Player of the Year: Cale Haugen

****

2023: CALE HAUGEN, SS/RHP, ESKO

Cale Haugen’s senior season ended on a slow bouncer to second base.

Haugen was in his usual position at short and cut to behind his middle infield partner to back up the play. 

The ball was fielded cleanly, but the throw to first was slightly offline, and a tag had to be made to ensure the runner was retired.

As the umpire signaled out, the yellow jerseys and blue hats of the Esko Eskomos swarmed CHS Field. Haugen, too, rushed to the middle of the diamond and was absorbed by the wave of yellow and blue.

They were Class 2A state champions.

Haugen’s contributions to that victory reverberated throughout the game. In the fifth inning of the championship game, he drove a ball into deep center and raced around the bases for a triple, scoring a pair of teammates. As he landed definitely on third base, Haugen screamed at his bench and pounded his helmet on the dirt. Then he crossed his arms and posed momentarily as if to say ‘“I am him.”

His team was on the energy bus, and he was driving – all gas, no brakes.

Haugen had put up video game numbers in 2023. He hit .548 with ten home runs and drove in 48 runs in 28 games. He was 8-0 on the mound and struck out 98 in 51.1 innings. His ERA was an infinitesimal 0.27. If his pose at third base in the state title game came across as cocky or arrogant, he had done enough over the season to earn that confidence.

“He’s an athletic two-way player that shows the capabilities to impact the game multiple ways,” said PBR Minnesota state director Andy Judkins.

Haugen’s ability to impact Esko’s championship run was displayed earlier in the tournament.

In the quarterfinals, Esko faced St. Agnes. The Aggies’ pitcher matched Haugen’s zeroes, and as the game progressed, it was hard to say which team would be advancing.

“He went out there and put the team on his back,” said Esko’s head coach Ben Haugen. “He would not let us lose that game. The guys saw his attitude, and they responded.”

Coach Haugen – Cale’s father – noted that Cale’s performance in that 1-0 victory over St. Agnes was something that the next pitchers fed upon. Finn Furcht would get the semifinal, and Dylan Marciulions would go the distance in the title game. Cale’s bulldog mentality set the tone for the staff.

“The difference as a player this year is his maturity and leadership,” said Coach Haugen.

The younger Haugen, a Minnesota State-Mankato commit, underwent procedures on both knees that kept him from playing football or basketball for his school this year. His focus was driving his team as far as he could in the spring. Coach Haugen viewed that as a sign of commitment to the baseball team.

The gaudy numbers, bulldog attitude, self-confidence, and leadership are why Cale Haugen earned PBR Minnesota’s Player of the Year.

****

The Prep Baseball Report staff has been diligently scouting and covering games at diamonds across the state this spring to bring parents, athletes and fans the most comprehensive coverage of amateur baseball across the United States. The dedication and coverage allow Prep Baseball Report a credible way to identify the top athletes each year who best represent the state of Minnesota.

PBR MINNESOTA PLAYER OF THE YEAR WINNERS