The St. James Tigers are trying to put together their first winning season since COVID wiped out the 2020 campaign.

And they have a slew of returning starters to build around in an attempt to accomplish that goal.
The first day Missouri high school spring sports teams could practice was Monday, March 2.

St. James features eight players with starting experience back from last season’s squad, which finished 6-18 overall and 0-7 in the Four Rivers Conference. St. James won two of its final three games, advancing to the Class 4 District 4 Tournament championship game before falling to Owensville.

“The way we ended last year is exactly what we’ve been preaching to them,” said Nick Olivas, in his fourth season as head coach of his alma mater. “Hopefully they can carry that on this season. We started last year with just a couple of players with varsity experience. That’s not an excuse this year. We have to fill some holes, but we do have experience.”

Players coming back who cracked the varsity starting lineup in 2025 are senior infielder/outfielder Cooper Schacht, senior third baseman/pitcher Trevor Mitchell, senior pitcher/first baseman JV Meurer, senior second baseman Max Wilson, senior outfielder Eugene Lefebvre, junior outfielder Hunter Freeman, sophomore catcher/outfielder Patrick Lonning and junior infielder/outfielder/pitcher Isaac Pearson.

Expected to lead the Tiger charge on the mound is Meurer, a left-handed pitcher who has been a Tiger ace since he was a freshman.

Meurer finished 3-5 with a 5.39 ERA last season, striking out 58 batters and walking 39 over 50 2/3 innings. Backing him up in the rotation is Mitchell, who finished 1-1 with a 5.57 ERA with 19 Ks and 20 walks over 25 innings a year ago.

“This offseason is about developing pitchers,” Olivas said. “Meurer will be our No. 1. We will call on him to carry the workload. Mitchell will get a lot of work on the mound, too. He will be asked to throw as long as he can go. Isaac was throwing more varsity innings as the season progressed last year and he’ll be in the mix.”

The Tigers will have to make up for the loss to graduation of their top hitter and No. 2 pitcher, Jesse Hudson, who worked 52 innings on the mound and fanned 36 while walking 28.

Schacht, who suffered a broken collarbone last season, figures to be a key to the St. James defense up the middle, whether it be at shortstop or centerfield.

“Our defense can be a strength, especially with a healthy Schacht at shortstop or center,” Olivas said. “He can help solidify our middle infield. He’s by far our most athletic kid. With him healthy it makes us competitive with any defense in our conference. Trevor held down third base last year. Second base is up for grabs between Wilson, Pearson and a couple other guys.”

Meurer, who earned All-FRC and all-district honors, batted .308 with 20 hits, nine doubles and team-high totals of four homers and 17 RBI last season and is back in the Tiger lineup along with Wilson, who batted .314 and Schacht, who hit .316 in limited action.

Hudson’s production - a team-high .420 batting average with 10 doubles and 19 runs scored - will have to be replaced.

“We will maintain our goal of small ball and putting the ball in play,” Olivas said. “Schacht has extra-base power and JV hits with power. But the focus has got to be to put the ball in play.”

The usual suspects figure to be the teams to beat in Four Rivers Conference play.

“Sullivan is always good; they’re always there,” Olivas said. “Union and Pacific are always good. It’s hard to compete with them when their guys play year-round, being so close to the St. Louis area. This year I think our defense has the potential to keep us competitive in the conference.”